Women as Perpetrators of Crimes in Poland: An Analysis from a Statistical Perspective

The article aims to determine the trends in the phenomenon of female delinquency in Poland in the years 2003–2018. To this end, on the basis of statistical data obtained from the Ministry of Justice: 1) the total number of convictions of female perpetrators during the analysed period was determined; 2) the categories of crimes which resulted in the highest level of convictions of female perpetrators were identified; 3) the types of crimes which dominated the criminal activity of women were analysed; 4) it was determined whether the level of female aggression accompanying the implementation of crimes increases. In the course of the research, several remarks were formulated, of which three findings remain the most important: 1) women commit crimes analogous to those of men (the absence of such prohibited acts which they would not commit); 2) infanticide, which was considered to be the most symptomatic female crime in view of the incidence of convictions under Article 149 of the Polish Criminal Code, loses its character; 3) the crime which dominates from the perspective of statistical research on the number of convictions of female perpetrators is currently fraud.


INTRODUCTION
Studies of the problem of female delinquency undertaken in the science of criminology for several decades have shown that it is stereotypically perceived 1 as an atypically negative phenomenon, and the only issue that has been established so far is that female delinquency differs from male delinquency in general in terms of frequency, which remains low. 2 Whatever the scope and context of the analyses carried out, it is clear from them that none of the European and non-European societies currently have an excess of female perpetrators over male perpetrators in their crime statistics. 3 Criminological analyses of the participation of women in the total number of perpetrators carried out in Poland 4 allow us to observe that the evolution of the phenomenon under investigation has been strongly emphasised. 5 The statistics which reveal the level of convictions of women over the last few decades show that while in the 1950s there were 23.6 women out of 100 convictions, in the 1990s there were only 6, currently, we should note a renewed, regular increase. 6 Such a serious remodelling of the frequency of convictions of women has been explained on

ANALYSIS OF STATISTICAL DATA
The phenomenon of female delinquency can be analysed from the perspective of different factors, but undoubtedly one of the most important ones remains the identification of trends in women's behaviour that are relevant from a criminal law perspective. Outlining this research perspective requires the compilation of varying range of statistical data with the aim of) determination of the total number of female convictions, identification of a catalogue of crimes committed by female sex, and indication of categories of crimes with the highest degree of social harm, as well as listing of those types of crimes which women commit with the highest degree of frequency. In view of the fact that statistics on female delinquency from the Ministry of Justice for the period 2003-2018 have been made available, the phenomenon under examination is analysed within the indicated period of time, taking into account the criteria set out above. Pobrane z czasopisma Studia Iuridica Lublinensia http://studiaiuridica.umcs.pl Data: 24/08/2021 14:16:00 U M C S originally at a high level, was regularly reduced (in the first period it ranged from 39,484 to 34,577, while in the second period it ranged from 36,296 to 26,846), reaching its lowest level in 2015. Focusing on identifying the overall trend in the number of women's convictions between 2003 and 2018, it should be noted that it has experienced a slow, heterogeneous downward trend with periods of slight increase (2004-2005 and 2010). Source: J. Błachut, A. Gaberle, K. Krajewski, Kryminologia, Gdańsk 2006, p. 221. For comparison, the level of female convictions, which occurred between 2003 and 2018, is present in Figure 2, which shows their level between 1980 and 1996. Given that the compilation aimed to compare the scale of the phenomenon of female convictions, similar research periods were taken into account (16 years), although for the second research period the data presented remain slightly less precise (between 1980 and 1990 the level of convictions is presented in five-year intervals, while between 1990 and 1996 the level of convictions is determined for each year separately). However, there are two main conclusions from this compilation. Firstly, the total number of women convicted between 1980 and 1996 remained substantially lower than between 2003 and 2018. However, the data contained in Figure 2 shows that the maximum level of convictions in the 1980-1996 research period was in 1985 and exceeded 17,000 cases, while, as shown in Figure 1, the maximum level of convictions in the 2003-2018 research period was in 2005, reaching nearly 40,000 convictions. Moreover, in the first of these research periods, between 1985 and 1990, there was a significant drop in the number of convictions, because while in 1985 they reached over 17,000 cases, in 1990 they exceeded only 6,000. In addition, it should be noted  1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Total number of women sentenced between 1980 and 1996 Pobrane z czasopisma Studia Iuridica Lublinensia http://studiaiuridica.umcs.pl Data: 24/08/2021 14:16:00 U M C S that since 1990, a trend of a slow, regular increase in the number of women convicted began, oscillating at 60% (from 6,000 in 1990 to 15,000 in 1996). The greatest discrepancy in the number of convictions of women in the analysed periods concerned their minimum level, which in the first research period 1980-1996 amounted to slightly over 6,000 cases (in 1990), while in the second research period (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018) it amounted to nearly 27,000 cases in 2015 (discrepancy of over 20,000 convictions).
Interesting insights emerge as a result of the analysis of Figures 3 and 4, which are an exemplification of the breakdown of the different categories of crimes committed by women between 2003 and 2018. First of all, it should be stated that there is one category of crime with clearly the highest frequency during the entire research period, namely, those related to attacks on property. The maximum level of these crimes was recorded in 2004, when the number of convictions was 17,495, and the lowest in 2015, when 12,534 convictions were recorded. From 2012 onwards, a slow downward trend can be observed in the category of crimes under consideration.
Another group of crimes where women show a significant (although incomparably lower than in the case of attacks on property) degree of criminal activity are crimes against traffic safety. 15 As can be seen from The level of convictions of women in the category of crimes against the family and guardianship 16 is also interesting, and it was twice as high as the average in the period under study: 1,044 convictions in 2004 and 2,222 in 2018 respectively. It should be noted, however, that during the period under study, with the exceptions indicated, the level of convictions for crimes against the family and guardianship committed by women was at a relatively comparable level of several hundred cases (an average of nearly 800 per year). 17 16

Categories of crimes most frequently committed by women in the years 2003-2010
Crimes against the person Crimes against traffic safety Crimes against freedom Crimes against sexual freedom and decency Crimes against the family and guardianship Crimes against the acƟviƟes of public insƟtuƟons and local government bodies Crimes against jusƟce Crimes against public order Crimes against the authenƟcity of documents Crimes against property Crimes against business trading

Categories of crimes most frequently committed by women in the years 2011-2018
Crimes against the person Crimes against traffic safety Crimes against freedom Crimes against sexual freedom and decency Crimes against the family and guardianship Crimes against the acƟviƟes of public insƟtuƟons and local government bodies Crimes against jusƟce Crimes against public order Crimes against the authenƟcity of documents Crimes against property Crimes against business trading Another type of crime committed by women that shows a high level of convicted persons is a crime of medium and slight damage to health (Article 157 of the Polish Criminal Code). It is worth pointing out that, according to the list shown in Figure 5, women committed several hundred cases of the type of prohibited act analysed, with the level of convictions being a minimum of 293 cases in 2007 and a maximum of 436 in 2018. However, on a yearly average, their participation in the type of crimes analysed was associated with convictions of almost 380 cases.
The third most common type of crimes committed by female perpetrators in the category of crimes against the person remains exposing a human being to a danger (Article 160 of the Polish Criminal Code). In the case of the prohibited act in question, a clear upward trend in convictions was noted between 2003 and 2010, reaching its optimum in 2008 of 488 cases. Since 2011, however, a decrease in the frequency of fulfilling the features of Article 160 of the Polish Criminal Code by women became apparent, and the level of convictions ranged from 230 to 290 cases (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018).
The list analysed in relation to the crime of murder in the basic type and its modified types is extremely interesting. 19 In the case of the basic type, on a yearly average, several dozen convictions for homicide 20 have to be recorded, with the highest level between 2003 and 2004, with more than 70 cases, followed by a slight decrease. In the years 2005-2015, it was close to 60 convictions, and it further decreased slightly to nearly 40 cases in 2016-2017 and 29 in 2018. In the period under consideration, the types of aggravated murders occurred incidentally and were connected with the maximum level of convictions of 5 cases, occurring in the years [2005][2006] Pobrane z czasopisma Studia Iuridica Lublinensia http://studiaiuridica.umcs.pl Data: 24/08/2021 14:16:00 U M C S the analysed period by the crime of mitigated murder, committed under the influence of strong agitation justified by the circumstances (maximum 9 convictions in 2003).
In turn, an extremely interesting trend can be observed with regard to the crime of infanticide. 21 In the years 2003-2009, women committed several cases of this type of mitigated crime, while in the years 2010-2018 (especially since 2013) its frequency was further reduced and showed an incidental character, in 2017 no case of conviction under Article 149 of the Polish Criminal Code was recorded 22 . It seems, therefore, pertinent to say that infanticide which until now has been regarded as an exclusively female crime, taking into account the statistics presented on the related convictions, has lost this status.
The frequency of convictions concerning: unintentional causing of death (Article 155 of the Polish Criminal Code) and failure to provide assistance (Article 162 of the Polish Criminal Code) developed at a comparable low level (maximum 27 and 29 convictions respectively, minimum 12 and 11 convictions) during the analysed period.      Pobrane z czasopisma Studia Iuridica Lublinensia http://studiaiuridica.umcs.pl Data: 24/08/2021 14:16:00 U M C S periods was 4.5 times higher (from 6,000 to 27,000), while the maximum level was 2.5 times higher (from 17,000 to 40,000). It should therefore be stressed that the phenomenon of female delinquency, given the number of their convictions, increased dramatically. In the first two decades of the 21 st century, female perpetrators were more criminally active than in the last two decades of the 20 th century. The second observation that results from the data presented is that the increase between the minimum and maximum levels of convictions in the periods under examination remained comparable. Thirdly, it is positive that, although the overall level of convictions of women increased in the 2000s, compared with the trend at the end of the 20 th century, a slow, yet irregular, decrease can be indicated as regards the dominant trend for the 2003-2018 research period. Turning here to the analysis of the different categories of crimes committed by women, it is important to note certain trends in their criminal activity. In considerations of criminology, the issue of female delinquency invariably comes up against the question of determining the direction of their criminal activities. Research obtained from the Ministry of Justice shows that women commit similar categories of crime to men. 24 Only the extent of male and female delinquency remains a differentiating element. The analysis of the data presented gives rise to the conclusion that women were recorded as perpetrators of all categories of crimes, typified in the specific part of the Criminal Code, and also as perpetrators of crimes within the scope of non-code criminal law. 25 24 According to R. Szczepanik, the fact that women commit crimes with a high level of social harm does not mean that they display male characteristics in their behaviour. The active fulfilment of the features of crimes indicating a high level of aggression, such as robbery, indicates that the female perpetrators have perhaps not mastered ways of dealing with difficult situations, have a low level of education or a low socio-economic status. Sometimes the result of their committing serious crimes is a specific personality and psychological predisposition. See R. Szczepanik, Teoretyczne perspektywy interpretacji przestępczości kobiet i mężczyzn, [in:] Teoretyczne perspektywy badań nad edukacją rodzajową, ed. M. Chomczyńska-Rubacha, Łódź 2007, pp. 165-166. 25 The following regulations should be mentioned among the special laws that contain crimes whose features are fulfilled by women: An analysis of individual crimes committed by women in Poland against the background of the statistics presented proves that the most frequently committed crimes are those which occur in four basic categories: against property, against traffic safety, against the authenticity of documents and against business trading, the first of which has by far the highest frequency of convictions. In the years 2003-2018, nearly 243,000 women were convicted of crimes against property, while in the case of crimes against traffic safety, the total number of convicted female perpetrators reached 70,000, while in the case of crimes against the authenticity of documents, it was nearly 50,000 cases, and as regards crimes against business trading, 40,500 convicted female perpetrators were recorded. This means that the level of convictions of women for crimes against property alone radically exceeded the level of the sum of convictions for three consecutive categories of crimes with the highest degree of frequency, and remained in the ratio of 243,000 to 160,500.
Looking at the successive types of crimes falling into their various categories, it should be noted that in the case of crimes against property, three types of prohibited acts prevailed in the activity of female perpetrators: fraud (Article 286 of the Polish Criminal Code), 26  en each year, it should be concluded that fraud remains the most characteristic of crimes against property committed by women. Therefore, in the case of the subjective side of the analysed category of crimes, the predominant objective remains the achievement of a financial benefit or the misappropriation of someone else's movable property, so the female perpetrators aim primarily at achieving a specific material gain.
Meanwhile, in the case of crimes against traffic safety committed by the female sex, the following types of prohibited acts prevail: driving a motor vehicle while in- What is worrying, therefore, is that women are not prevented from driving in a state of intoxication or under the influence of a narcotic drug. Nevertheless, we should bear in mind that they are up to four times less likely to be convicted of causing a traffic accident than for driving under the influence of alcohol or a narcotic drug. It is worth pointing out that the last of the indicated types of crime has only recently begun to appear in statistical summaries, but it is supposed to be incidental in comparison with the indicated types of crime against traffic safety (between 2015 and 2018, it was only 612 convictions). But given the nature of the crimes that dominate the criminal activity of women, from the perspective of their category under consideration, it must be said that, unfortunately, they show an advanced tendency to violate and disregard the precautionary rules that apply to road traffic. them. There is no doubt that a positive trend can be found in the slow downward evolution of the crime of murder of the basic type. In the analysed period, the maximum threshold of convictions under Article 148 § 1 of the Polish Criminal Code was 78 cases (in 2003) and the minimum was 28 cases (in 2018). A total of 878 convictions under Article 148 § 1 of the Polish Criminal Code were recorded in the analysed period, with convictions for murder of aggravated types being incidental.
However, undoubtedly the most interesting conclusions are drawn from a closer analysis of the number of convictions, which is a manifestation of exclusively female criminal activity, the crime of infanticide. It should be stated that, given the level of convictions, the type of prohibited act analysed in the years 2003-2012 showed a disappearing character, with a frequency of between 6 and 16 convictions per year, with one conviction per year already occurring incidentally from 2013 onwards, and then disappearing from the statistical summary in 2017. We can therefore put forward a thesis that infanticide remains a strongly declining crime, and that convictions under Article 149 of the Polish Criminal Code currently occur incidentally or not at all in the statistics. This means that the crime under investigation cannot continue to be regarded as the only, most symptomatic female crime because, according to the statistical analysis, from the perspective of decisions made by law enforcement agencies, there were only 6 convictions between 2013 and 2018, proving the fulfilment of its features by women.
The analysis of the other categories of crimes of which women remain the perpetrators also draws interesting conclusions. Despite the fact that the female sex is associated, above all, with particular predispositions for the care and protection of the offspring and loved ones, as well as with the ability to secure the proper functioning of the family, the paradoxically high level of convictions of women in the category of crimes against the family and guardianship (14,000 cases over a period of 16 years), especially several hundred cases of convictions per year relating to the fulfilment of the features of the crime of abuse, remains worrying. It should be stressed that the statistical research presented also refutes the belief, which is well established in the social awareness, that there are categories of crimes reserved exclusively for men, the most symptomatic of which are crimes against sexual freedom and decency. We should remember that although the frequency of convictions of women on the basis of crimes in this category remains low, they undertake a number of criminal behaviours against sexual freedom and decency, and the dominant types of crimes committed by female perpetrators in this category are procurement, pimping and facilitation of prostitution (Article 204 § § 1 and 2 of the Polish Criminal Code). 28

U M C S
When analysing the phenomenon of female delinquency, it should also be pointed out that the economic transformation in Poland over the last two decades has been reflected in the increase in the proportion of female perpetrators in economic crime and the associated increase in convictions in this category. For it should be recalled that this is the fourth group of crimes committed by women with the highest degree of frequency. It can therefore be concluded that the increase in the level of education of female perpetrators, as well as their clear, especially in the last decade, activity in the labour market not only contributes to positive changes in the social structure, but also provides a basis for the acquisition of skills in exceeding established standards, including at a normative level. Moreover, it is worth specifying that in the case of crimes against business trading committed by women, convictions for the crime of first-party fraud (Article 297 of the Polish Criminal Code) and thwarting or depleting the satisfaction of their creditor (Article 300 § 2 of the Polish Criminal Code) prevail. These categories of crimes clearly show that women can pursue them with quite a bit of freedom, given their frequent employment in various financial institutions (e.g. banks).
In conclusion, a rather controversial thesis should be put forward concerning the identification of a crime which currently remains the most symptomatic for women in Poland. The clear change in the level of education of the female sex in favour of significant self-development, the subsequent development of women's professional opportunities and competences, as well as their rising level of earnings, have resulted in the stereotypical nature of female delinquency -infanticide losing this status. In view of the statistical statements presented in this study, it should be stated that the crime which implied the highest level of convictions among women in Poland between 2003 and 2018 was fraud. Therefore, it is worth stressing that over the last two decades, there has been a very clear change in the criminal activity of a female perpetrator, who will now most often concentrate on committing crimes against property. Many years ago, J. Błachut stressed in the context of research into female delinquency that "It also makes little sense to ask why women commit crimes. Being a kind of behaviour, a criminal act is possible for both a man and a woman. And it would be strange if women did not act in this way at all". 29 It would be all the more strange if, with the development of all levels of their existence (education, work, material or social status), the level of criminal activity were not to be further transformed.