Wild swimming areas around Bolesławiec are regularly patrolled during the summer holidays. Both police officers and municipal police officers only warn people who are swimming. Not a single fine has been issued since the beginning of the holidays.
Swimming in a prohibited area is punishable under the Code of Petty Offences by a fine of up to PLN 250. The swimming areas around Bolesławiec where an absolute swimming ban applies are the gravel pits at Krępnica, Wizów, Podkowa, Trzebień Mały, Zabobrze, Stara Oleszna, Kozłów and Kruszywo, as well as the Świętoszów Forest District’s ponds and those in Nowogrodziec.
“As every year, Bolesławiec police officers are stepping up inspections of bodies of water as part of the ‘Safe Holidays’ campaign,” says spokesperson for the Bolesławiec police Adriana Szajwaj. “Increased inspections are carried out during the summer months. Police officers generally advise people relaxing by the water not to swim in bodies of water where it is prohibited.”
The swimming ban is also connected with a ban on camping, but this does not apply to people sunbathing near the water. “There is no provision prohibiting people from lying on a blanket by the water in generally accessible areas (public places),” Szajwaj adds. “When inspecting bodies of water, police officers remind people that swimming in prohibited areas is forbidden. They warn people not to enter the water under the influence of alcohol and not to overestimate their abilities, as this can end tragically.”
The most tragic cases Bolesławiec police officers have encountered this year were the drownings of two teenagers, which occurred in June in bodies of water in Bolesławiec and Kozłów—places where swimming is prohibited.
(information from KPP Bolesławiec/ii)