The dataset contains data generated within the research project “Rural Crime in Poland”, carried out in the years 2022–2025 (the project has been extended by one year and is still ongoing). The project is led by Dr. Emilia Jurgielewicz-Delegacz and is funded by the National Science Centre, Poland (NCN) under the SONATA 17 grant, no. 2021/43/D/HS5/01645.
The aim of the project is to diagnose the phenomenon of rural crime in Poland, to determine its scale, dynamics, and structure, as well as to identify the etiological determinants of criminal behavior occurring in rural areas. The research also seeks to gain a deeper understanding of rural residents’ attitudes toward crime and crime prevention.
To complement and verify information obtained from rural residents and to include diverse perspectives, qualitative research was also conducted among experts and local practitioners working in rural areas.
Research questions
- What types of crimes do inhabitants of rural areas in Poland face most often?
- What is the scale and extent of the dark figure of crime in rural areas?
- What are the etiological determinants of crimes committed in rural areas?
- What are the distinctive characteristics of crimes committed in rural areas?
- How has rural crime changed over time?
- What are the opinions of rural residents about social control in their communities?
- What is the role of informal social control in rural areas?
Methodology
1) Quantitative study – Diagnostic survey (victimization survey)
Population:
Residents aged 18 and over living in rural areas in Poland. Rural areas were defined as rural communes (gminy wiejskie) and the rural parts of mixed urban-rural communes (gminy miejsko-wiejskie), excluding the towns located within such communes.
Sample:
The survey was based on a nationwide, stratified random-quota sample. The sampling procedure was multi-stage (three steps):
- Random selection of communes, then localities within communes, and starting addresses.
- Allocation of demographic quotas (sex, age, education) proportionally to the structure of the rural population.
- Selection of individual respondents using the random-route method, with one interview per address.
The final sample consisted of n = 1,006 respondents. This number refers to effectively realized interviews, i.e. completed in full and positively verified during fieldwork and post-fieldwork quality control.
Stratification and quotas:
- Cross-stratification: sex (2 categories), age (6 cohorts), education (3 levels) – 36 strata in total.
- Marginal stratification: region (16 voivodeships) and rurality/peripherality (based on DEGURBA classification, types 2 and 3).
Population data from the 2021 National Census were used as a basis for setting quotas.
Fieldwork:
The survey was conducted at the turn of 2023 and 2024 (December 2023 - January 2024) through face-to-face, in-home interviews using CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing). Interviewers visited addresses selected by the random-route procedure and selected one eligible respondent per address according to the assigned sex and age quota. Where more than one eligible person was present, the Kish grid was used.
2) Qualitative study – Focus Group Interviews (FGIs)
Selection of locations:
The procedure for selecting locations for qualitative research consisted of the following steps:
- Identification of key geographic clusters with distinct crime characteristics, based on available secondary data.
- Selection of several representative cases within these clusters.
- Selection of specific locations (rural or mixed urban-rural communes) within these areas where the qualitative research would be conducted.
Participants:
Participants in the focus group interviews included:
- police officers,
- social welfare center employees,
- probation officers, teachers, and school counselors,
- village heads (sołtysi), members of volunteer fire brigades (OSP), and local NGO representatives,
- healthcare workers and members of rural women’s associations (Koła Gospodyń Wiejskich).
A total of 10 focus group interviews (FGIs) were conducted across Poland, with an average of 5 participants per group.
The interviews were conducted in March - April 2024 based on a standardized FGI guide.
The dataset will be systematically expanded as subsequent stages of the project are completed.
