The information contained in the article had been presented and analyzed on the basis of judicial and police statistics retrieved from Eurostat for the following years: 1987, 1997, 2003 and 2016. The state of crime is influenced by conditions of social life and criminal policy of the state. The basic factors determining mentioned changes include: – an increased number of motor vehicles (about 4 million in 1987 to over 21 million in 2016), – consumption of alcoholic beverages and psychoactive substances, and above all, significant changes in the demographic structure of Polish society – a clear decrease in the population of younger age categories (17–29 years in which the greatest severity of crime is found). The crime rate in Poland has clearly decreased in recent years which is particularly true of the most serious crimes such as murders, rapes, and robberies. As far as criminal policy is concerned, it is noticed that the rules of criminal law are not always justified in Poland.