Transformation Towards a Market Oriented Economy – an Impetus or Hindrance for Organized Crime in Poland?

Abstract

This article deals with the phenomenon of organized crime that has emerged as an urgent and serious problem in Poland during the transformation period. The solid background for organized crime group activity was created during the communist time. Due to the strong position of the police (that time called militia), and the security body, organized crime was not so well developed. After 1989, the organized crime groups (OCG) started to be more active, both in the domestic and the international market. The patterns of organized crime group activity were presented. So the main objective of the paper is to reveal the evolution of OCG activities and their scale in Poland. The organized crime groups have proven to be skillful in the exploitation of legal loopholes. The OCG became less violent, and focused more on economic crimes.