Polish politicians criticize Slawomir Mentzen over comments on female police recruits

Social media video on police recruitment

On 1 October 2026, Slawomir Mentzen, co-chairman of the Confederation party and leader of Nowa Nadzieja, published a video on the platform X addressing recent recruitment to the Lower Silesia police force. The video displayed selected photographs from a recent swearing-in ceremony, focusing exclusively on female recruits while omitting male recruits who took part in the same event. Mentzen accompanied the imagery with sarcastic commentary directed at the capabilities of the new female officers to combat violent crime and foreign criminal groups.

I immediately feel safer. Georgian gangs, Ukrainian veterans straight from the front are already trembling with fear. Organized crime will not recover from something like this.

Under the recording, Mentzen asked his followers whether they felt safer. The post cropped images from swearing-in ceremonies at police headquarters in Wroclaw and Legnica to display only female personnel.

Lower Silesia intake figures and standards

Data published by the Voivodeship Police Headquarters in Wroclaw shows that 150 new officers were admitted to the Lower Silesia garrison on 16 September 2026. The group consisted of 85 men and 65 women, meaning male officers formed the majority of the intake. After completing basic training, the officers are scheduled to be deployed to municipal and county units across the region, including Wroclaw, Legnica, Jelenia Gora, Boleslawiec, Olawa, Dzierzoniow, Polkowice, Trzebnica, Luban, Jawor, Klodzko, Lwowek Slaski, Olesnica, Swidnica, Walbrzych, Zabkowice Slaskie, Zlotoryja, and Zgorzelec.

The September admission brought the total number of police recruits in Lower Silesia to 551 individuals since the beginning of 2026. Police officials noted that interest in the service continues to rise, with the next recruitment intake scheduled for 30 December 2026. Recruitment regulations established by the police specify that candidate fitness examinations are identical for both women and men, applying the exact same physical tests and scoring thresholds across all applicants.

Government and political responses

The video prompted direct responses from government officials, parliamentarians, and public figures. Minister of the Interior and Administration Marcin Kierwinski rejected Mentzen's characterization of the recruits.

Mr. Mentzen, unlike you, these female police officers serve Poland well.

Interior Ministry spokesperson Karolina Galecka asked whether the remarks reflected the official position of the Confederation party regarding women serving in national defense. Galecka noted that the officers risk their lives to protect citizens while criticizing the member of parliament for bringing shame to public office. Independent lawmaker Paulina Matysiak and parliamentarian Monika Pawlowska also criticized the post, with Pawlowska describing the selective presentation of photos as a superficial attempt to present an unflattering image of police personnel.

Prior incidents and recruitment timeline

The online discussion also led observers to recall past interactions between law enforcement and members of the Confederation party. Journalist Agnieszka Gozdyra cited a 2013 incident outside the Enklawa club in Warsaw involving current Confederation lawmaker Przemyslaw Wipler. During that confrontation, an intoxicated Wipler was restrained by police officers, with a female officer taking an active role in subduing him.

Jesuit priest Grzegorz Kramer and former politician Waldemar Kuczynski also commented on the video, with Kramer suggesting Mentzen could put on a uniform himself to improve public safety.