Thousands of school checks as Poland eases intensive police operation

Polish police have carried thousands of checks at schools nationwide and detained hundreds of people as part of a major security operation launched after a series of violent incidents.

A police officer at a school in Szczecin, northwestern Poland, October 12. Following a series of violent incidents at schools in recent days, officers are patrolling areas around educational institutionsPAP/Marcin Bielecki

Police launched the operation on October 9, stepping up security at schools and other educational institutions in response to a spate of violent incidents that alarmed parents, teachers and pupils.

Officers have recorded 518 incidents involving reasonable suspicion of criminal offences, according to figures released by police on Saturday.

Police have carried out more than 211,000 checks at educational institutions and arrested 194 people, it said.

The operation has involved extensive checks across the country, while police have also been monitoring online activity around the clock and responding to every report of a potential threat.

The heightened security measures followed several violent attacks at educational institutions in the space of a week, prompting fears of further incidents and a wave of alarming messages circulating online.

Authorities have urged the public not to spread unverified information, while police have been investigating threats and other potentially criminal activity.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday that schools would remain under special supervision for as long as there were situations giving cause for concern.

On Friday, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said that the situation was beginning to stabilise, with tensions subsiding both in schools and across the internet.

As a result, the nature of the police presence is expected to change. Rather than maintaining the same level of intensive checks indefinitely, the authorities plan to move towards a nationwide prevention and education campaign aimed at addressing the risks before they escalate into violence.

On Friday, the Digital Affairs Ministry summoned internet companies including Google and Meta demanding they do more to curb the spread of violent content following a series of school stabbing attacks.

(mo)

Source: PAP

Radio Poland