EVERY fortnight an aeroplane carrying Polish policemen touches down at an airport in southern England. Waiting for them each time is a glum band of 20 or so handcuffed men who are to be flown back to face trial in Poland. Extradited prisoners are normally transferred on ordinary commercial flights, but a surge in the number being sent from Britain to Poland means that now a fortnightly “Con Air” service is being laid on by the Polish authorities.
Astonishingly, Poland now accounts for more than half of all Britain’s extraditions to Europe (see chart). The number of transfers grew from four in 2005 to 186 in the first nine months of 2008. That is about ten times the number being sent to Ireland, despite the fact that Irish migrants easily outnumber Poles in Britain. What explains this sudden plague of hardened criminals?
A look at the charge sheet suggests that they may not be so hard after all. The crimes for which people have been extradited include “theft of a chicken”, “theft of a piglet” and “theft of a cupboard door”. Whereas most countries are happy to put minor offences on hold until the suspect re-enters the country, Poland requests extradition for almost any crime, however petty. Some of its eastern neighbours take a similarly finicky approach.
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