We were informed that someone had torn metal sheets from the gymnasium of Zespół Szkół Mechanicznych in Bolesławiec, which is currently being renovated, by a Reader. In an email to the editorial office, the person wrote: “The photographs show the damaged façade of the historic ZSM gymnasium on Zgorzelecka Street, one month after the renovation work was completed. On the park side, metal sheet inserts were torn out and stolen. The damage was estimated at several hundred zlotys, while the thief may have earned enough for one beer.”
The Reader added: “This is a place where anyone can come and enter. There is no surveillance camera, and municipal guards are rarely seen there. Destruction had taken place here before; the hall was covered in scratches on this side. My main concern is to publicize the matter. Perhaps a camera will be installed here, and police officers or municipal guards will patrol the area more often?”
The facility’s director, Adam Maksymczyk, noticed the torn-out sheets on Wednesday, October 8. The following day, the company renovating the “mechanika” gymnasium repaired the damage, and it was therefore decided not to report the crime to the police.
We contacted Agnieszka Gergont, spokesperson for Bolesławiec City Hall, about the matter. “This is the first time such a report has reached me,” she admitted. “We have dealt with vandalism. It was precisely for this reason that we installed surveillance cameras in municipal kindergartens and schools [Zespół Szkół Mechanicznych to szkoła powiatowa – przyp. „ii”]. We spent nearly PLN 137,000 for this purpose, and more than PLN 2 million on the city’s video-surveillance system. We cannot monitor every place. There probably isn’t a single city in the world with such perfect surveillance.”
She suggested asking the County Office whether it planned to install a surveillance camera there.
Katarzyna Biegasiewicz-Mularczyk, spokesperson for Bolesławiec County: “The Bolesławiec starost and the school’s director will consider securing the grounds and the building. It is possible that this will also include surveillance.”