Hundreds of thousands of Poles are taking up arms, with the number of gun licenses reaching a historic high. Since the fall of communism and the birth of the Polish People’s Republic, there has never been so many Poles arming themselves so quickly.
Last year, 45,800 gun licenses were issued in Poland, which is a record since the change of regime in 1989, according to police data. In previous years, the data shows that Poles typically applied for 10,000 permits per year, however, in 2022, this jumped to 37,400 permits, representing a dramatic increase. That also happens to be the same year that Russia invaded Ukraine.
The following year, in 2023, the number of permits once again rose to 40,900.
By the time 2024 arrived, private individuals in Poland with a firearm totaled 930,100 people, which was double the figure from 2017, according to Polish newspaper RP.
“Society feels insecure today, which is why it wants to stock up on weapons. The impetus is the war in Ukraine, but also concern for one’s own safety and that of one’s property,” stated criminologist Prof. Brunon Hołyst.
However, security expert Jerzy Dziewulski stated that the entire trend cannot only be explained by the war in Ukraine, with gun ownership growing increasingly popular starting in 2011 due to a relaxation of regulations.
“Having a gun boosts the ego of every guy, especially if my buddy had one and I didn’t,” he said.
Most Poles obtain their firearms as collectors or through hunting.
“Obtaining a gun for collecting purposes requires demonstrating a valid reason, which is membership in a collecting association, and meeting general requirements, such as a clean criminal record, mental health, and appropriate age. You also need to pass a police exam, which can be replaced by a license issued by the Polish Sports Shooting Association,” said Turczyn. “This is the easiest way to obtain a gun permit for the average Pole. Importantly, it is also the easiest way to keep it.”
Despite the country increasingly purchasing firearms, this has not led to a surge of crime involving firearms, even as the rate of gun ownership increased dramatically, according to Lawyer Andrzej Turczyn
Even with the surge of gun owners, Poland still features fewer firearms per capita than many other European nations. Turczyn said that Poles remain “ one of the least armed nations in Europe,”
Many critics look to the United States, which has the highest rate of legal privately-owned firearms in the world, and which suffers from high rates of gun crime. However, the vast majority of those gun crimes are concentrated in specific areas, most notably neighborhoods with large Black majorities in large and medium-sized cities. Over 50 percent of all homicides in the United States are committed by African American males, which substantially skews the figures. Many of these gun crimes, for instance in Chicago, are committed with illegal firearms obtained by gang members.
Hispanics also have higher rates than Whites, while Asians have the lowest rate of gun-related crime in the United States.
In other European countries, such as Sweden, there has been a notable increase in gun crimes that grow in tandem with a rising foreign population.
All of this data raises questions about Poland’s increasingly liberal immigration policies. As immigration numbers rise in Poland, gun crime may also rise; however, this rise may not be linked to private individuals with legal gun permits, but instead to foreigners, many who traffic illegal firearms.
