Thefts in Poland increased by 12,000 in 2022 from the previous year, to 124,000, the National Police Headquarters (KGP) data has shown.

The Rzeczpospolita daily wrote on Thursday that “the plague of thefts has affected mainly big cities.”

The increase in thefts was confirmed to Rzeczpospolita by KGP spokesman, Mariusz Ciarka. According to him, mainly alcohol and expensive cosmetics are being shoplifted.

“This shows that such behaviour can’t be justified by low wages or poverty,” Ciarka said.

In total, police recorded 476,000 crimes and offences in 2022, up by more than 8,000 from the previous year.

Police managed to identify perpetrators of 42.4 percent of all thefts.