Crime of Abuse in the Light of University Students’ Opinions and Court Statistics

Objectives The article is based on empirical data. It covers crimes specified in Art. 207 of the Penal Code, including the amendment to the Penal Code of July 7, 2022, i.e., hereinafter referred to as “Zmkk2022” (Ustawa 07.07.2022). The aim of the research was to find out the opinions of students regarding hypothetical penalties that should be imposed for crimes specified in Art. 207 of the Penal Code and to compare them with legally binding regulations. Material and methods The author based her research on the survey method and on the interpretative-descriptive methodology, specific primarily to legal professions (Dobosz, 2001, p. 24), using the purposive method of interpretation, which consisted in defining the legislator’s purpose of implementing the regulation (Łętowski, 1995, p. 45). Results Although, the introduction of new statutory limits of penalties for acts punishable by imprisonment under Article 207 § 3 of the Penal Code may undoubtedly be assessed positively, in view of the results of the survey conducted for the purposes of this article, the indicated penalties still seem to be too low. The respondents expressed their preference for long-term penalties of imprisonment, and even occasionally opted for the introduction of death penalty, which is currently not envisaged by Polish legislation. Conclusions The conducted research was aimed at understanding the viewpoint of the general public in the scope of preferences regarding the minimum and maximum penalty of imprisonment for crimes specified in Article 207 of the Penal Code. The opinions expressed by the respondents regarding the possible penalties for the above-mentioned prohibited acts vary significantly from the limits specified in the Code as well as from actual penalties imposed by courts.