According to data from the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police, 132 reports of this type were recorded from January to July this year. By comparison, there were 161 such cases during the same period last year. This year, police officers have already arrested 76 people suspected of making false reports.
Ministry of the Interior and Administration:
The reason for the decline in the number of false alarms is the Counter-Terrorist Activities Act introduced in July 2016. It limited the anonymity of potential perpetrators of false notifications by introducing mandatory registration of prepaid telephone cards.
The Counter-Terrorist Activities Act also introduced severe financial penalties—at least PLN 10,000 in compensation payable to the State Treasury and a criminal measure of at least PLN 10,000 for people who caused a false bomb alert. In addition to financial penalties, a person suspected of such an offense faces between 6 months and 8 years in prison.
Data from the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police also show that the number of false alarms is steadily declining. Before the Counter-Terrorist Activities Act was introduced, the number of such reports exceeded 300 per year (2014—337, 2015—324, 2016—381). Last year, however, only 260 such alarms were recorded.
False information about explosive devices being planted is very costly for the services and disrupts the operations of airports, railway stations and other facilities, such as shopping centers.
The decline in the number of reports is also linked to a reduction in the number of facilities that had to be evacuated. In 2018, 64 evacuations were carried out, compared with 189 throughout the previous year (in earlier years, the figures were even higher—for example, 633 facilities were evacuated in 2014).
This year, police officers have already arrested 76 people suspected of making false reports (there were 102 people throughout the previous year).