Deployment of two officers follows death of Arkadiusz Jóźwik and spike in hate crime directed at Poles

Two Polish police officers have been sent to patrol the streets of Harlow in Essex following the killing of a Polish man in the town and a spike in hate crime directed at Poles in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union.

Harlow’s sizeable Polish community is said to be “scared and worried” after the killing last month of Arkadiusz Jóźwik, 40, by a gang of teenagers in what is being treated by Essex police as a possible hate crime.



Jóźwik and a second Polish man, who survived, were allegedly the victims of an unprovoked attack. Three other Poles have also been attacked in separate recent incidents in the town.

European commission president decries attacks on Poles since Brexit vote Read more

The deployment of the officers came as the president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, condemned attacks on Polish people in the UK.



“We Europeans can never accept Polish workers being beaten up, harassed or even murdered in the streets of Essex,” Juncker said in his annual state of the union address to MEPs in Strasbourg.

Essex police have taken up an offer by the Polish state police to deploy two officers in the town. The officers, second lieutenant Bartosz Czernicki and chief sergeant Dariusz Tybura, started work on Wednesday and will initially be on patrol for a week.

They will have no formal police powers, but the move is designed to ease community tensions and reassure Poles, according to a spokesman for the Polish embassy in London.

“They are there to assist with community relations for Essex. They will be helping to foster dialogue with the Poles and to help them feel more safe and secure in the area,” he said.

Two Polish officers are also currently on secondment to the Metropolitan police in London.

After a visit to Harlow last week at which the deployment of the officers was discussed, Col Rafał Batkowski, director of international cooperation with the Polish state police, said: “We wanted to get an assurance that appropriate measures are being taken to ensure that the Polish community in Essex feels safe and secure.”

Eric Hind, a Harlow-based Pole who organised a protest march in the town after Jóźwik’s killing, was sceptical about the move.

“I welcome everyone who wants to help with this complex problem, but I haven’t noticed the difference. I really hope I can see them back on the street at 11pm tonight actually doing something for the community, dealing with things and not just posing for selfies.” Hind pointed out that Poles were still being attacked in the UK.

“Many feel let down by the British government. We made the UK our home, but we don’t feel welcome here anymore. People are scared and worried.”

Four teenage boys have been arrested following an allegedly racist attack on a Polish man in Leeds. They will be questioned over an attack on a 28-year-old man who was kicked and punched by a gang in Armley on Friday night.



The Polish embassy said it was aware of more than 29 attacks on Poles in the UK since the referendum. They include an arson attack on the home of Polish family in Plymouth in July and the assaults of Polish men in Yeovil and St Ives.

The Polish embassy is encouraging Poles to report all suspected hate crimes to the police.

Poland’s ambassador the UK, Arkady Rzegocki, welcomed Juncker’s remarks. He said: “We appreciate that the European commission shares our concern for the safety of the Polish nationals in the United Kingdom. We hope that more could be done to inform and educate about the positive contribution of EU migrants to the British culture, society, and economy.”



