Magyar Rendészet

A Brief History of the Evolution of the Hungarian Police Anti-Terror Units (1987–2010)

Kiss Dávid — 2023-08-01

This paper will attempt to cover the history and evolution of the Hungarian anti-terror capability and the evolution of the dedicated Hungarian police anti-terror units from 1987 up to 2010 from a historical perspective. By using interviews and memoires of former unit members, contemporary manuals and media sources, and presenting the legal background, this paper will attempt to highlight the historical significance, the cultural heritage, and the tactical methodology behind the evolution of the Hungarian stance on terrorism and anti-terrorism from its most acute aspect, the boots on the ground and the operators behind the orders. This paper also includes a brief history and description on the different uniforms, equipment and weapon systems, highlighting the changes in tactical approaches, and varying opportunities in obtaining or developing more modern and advanced technology.

Characteristics of Migration from Ukraine to Hungary in the Last Decade

Urbán Ferenc — 2023-08-01

The article analyses the changing characteristics of migration from Ukraine to Hungary, also looking at the period before 2010, but mainly at the period between 2010 and 2022. Migration from Ukraine has undergone a number of changes during the period under study due to the socio-economic processes in Ukraine and the war that has broken out in the meantime. Of course, changes in the legal and economic characteristics of Hungary have also had an impact on migration between the two countries. In the course of the analysis, the article takes stock of the changes in legislation and social processes that have taken place and illustrates the impact of these changes on migration with statistical data, highlighting forced migration triggered by the war.

The data show that migration from Ukraine has been one of the most important factors influencing the overall migration process in Hungary.

Is It Appropriate to Use Restorative Justice in Cases of Domestic Violence?

Schmidt Laura — 2023-08-01

Domestic violence (DV) is sometimes called a hidden crime because in many cases victims do not report the offence to the police. DV includes child abuse, intimate partner violence and elder abuse and comes in many forms, such as physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse.3

Using restorative justice (RJ) methods in cases of DV is a highly controversial topic.4 However, in many countries around the world restorative practices are used in these cases with appropriate safeguarding in place.5

The aim of this article is to explore the different types of RJ methods and the different types of DV cases where these methods might be used with the potential benefits and challenges being discussed.

Relevant articles and case studies were analysed to present previously conducted research on the topic of DV and RJ.

The available literature shows that certain RJ practices are appropriate in certain types of DV cases but they need to be evaluated on an individual basis as these types of cases are very complex and need to be screened thoroughly before any kind of intervention. However, in addressing the concerns surrounding the use of RJ in DV cases, it is vital to listen to the victims themselves, by first giving them a voice.

In conclusion, professionals working with victims and offenders of DV cases need to work more closely with others who work in RJ in order to make the process safer and to utilise the potential benefits of the process.

Law Enforcement Officials’ Opinion on the Security Situation and Cooperation on the Danube

Kalmár Ádám — 2023-08-01

The aim of the study is to analyse the bilateral and multilateral law enforcement cooperation between the Danube Member States and the relevant international stakeholders. A key issue for the security of the European Union and the Schengen area is the joint strengthening of the security of the Danube river. In the most important transnational maritime areas (Black Sea, Baltic Sea), there is a regulation based on the operation of a common centre for law enforcement coordination, which allows a rapid and efficient exchange of information between the Member States in order to combat organised crime. The Danube is one of Europe’s most important waterways, but the absence of a multilateral international agreement on the cooperation and coordination signed by all the Member States to ensure continuous cooperation and exchange of information is believed to have a negative impact on border security. The research was carried out by an online questionnaire survey among 201 persons in staff from the participating organisations of 10 Danube Member States during the DARIF joint operation, which was conducted from 12–16 September 2022 and extended until 30 September 2022. The questionnaire was prepared in Hungarian, English, and in German, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, Bulgarian and Ukrainian languages, to encourage respondents to participate in the survey. The questionnaire survey among the Danube law enforcement agencies confirmed that the lack of a permanent Law Enforcement Coordination Centre and Cooperation Forum is a significant security deficit in the countries of the Danube Region. The creation of a network of national contact points specialising in international information exchange on the Danube is necessary; it is not sufficient to make better use of the existing network of direct information exchange channels (e.g. Police and Customs Cooperation Centres).

A Renewed Schengen Evaluation Mechanism in the Light of the Schengen Reforms

Zsákai Lénárd — 2023-08-01

The aim of the study is to identify the reasons, background and possible impacts of the international intention to reform the functioning of the Schengen area and to introduce a renewed Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism turned on by adopting a new Council regulation. In this article, the author examines the report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the functioning of the mechanism. The complex report presents comprehensive and detailed results of the first multi-annual evaluation programme, prepared and published by the European Commission in 2021, taking into account the feedback of Member States and relevant cooperating agencies and EU bodies. The study also examined two important elements of the Schengen renewal process, the EU strategy towards a fully functioning and resilient Schengen area and the preceding points of the new Scheval Regulation, which entered into force on 1 October 2021. The research concludes that recurring national shortcomings and divergent practices between Member States are likely to result from inconsistent implementation of the Schengen rules, which may have an impact on the overall functioning of the Schengen area as a whole. In addition to many other demands for change in the Schengen area, the states and EU institutions concerned have decided that the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism needs to be renewed and undergo significant changes for the future. From a scientific point of view, the author concluded that in the field of law enforcement sciences, and especially in border management research, the renewal of the Schengen evaluation mechanism should be followed closely, as it is synergistic with several other related research issues (e.g. border management, border management education, etc.). With thorough research in this field, scientific works and scientific representation, the Hungarian law enforcement science is expected to be strengthened in the international scientific dimension.

An Unsolved Dilemma: Contracted vs. In-House Guarding

Tiszolczi Balázs Gergely — 2023-08-01

There are questions in the field of physical security that are hard to answer. One such existing dilemma is whether to choose contracted or in-house guarding. Deploying security officers is a must in almost every security system to appropriately handle system-related risks, so most security managers meet this problem during their careers. Since there is no “one size fits all” solution to this problem, in this article, various points of view are shown to help security professionals decide between the two types of service when the question is on the table.

Establishing the Evaluation Criteria System for Private Security Companies in Hungary

Tóth Attila — 2023-08-01

The study was prepared for the research on the creation of the certification system for private security companies operating in Hungary. I hereby present the place of private security in the Hungarian law enforcement system and examine the operation of the certification system for private security companies in international practice. Based on international experience and taking into account laws applicable to businesses, I have developed a criteria system for the pre-certification of businesses. I have also created separate evaluation criteria systems for assessing the financial stability, size, market share and quality of services provided by companies.

The Evolution of Public Surveillance Systems in Europe

Tóth Levente — 2023-08-01

Video surveillance systems are used today in many parts of the world in public spaces. Although most publications date the appearance of the systems in public spaces to the 1980s, the use of the systems by the British police dates back 60 years. However, the actual spread of these systems has only been significant since the 1990s, as the development of technology made it possible to produce images of a quality that can be well utilised for the suppression and detection of crime through constant and intensive surveillance of public spaces at a cost-effective price. The speed of spread, size of infrastructure, mode of supervision and use, and the purpose of installation of the systems vary from country to country in Europe. This is mainly determined by the political, social, criminal, economic and legal context of the country.

The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Hungarian Penitentiary System and Its Transformation Processes

Czenczer Orsolya — 2023-08-01

The Covid-19 epidemic has put significant pressure on national penitentiary services all over the world to control the impacts that the pandemic has on closed prison environments. The prison services of the member states of the Council of Europe have responded with incredible speed and effectiveness with preventive and administrative measures to prevent the spread of the virus. The objective of the Council of Europe, EuroPris and other international organisations, was to support the member states’ responses to the situation in prisons by facilitating the exchange of information and best practices. The present study examines the statements and recommendations of the most important bodies and committees of the Council of Europe, in parallel with measures and solutions implemented in Hungary, in the light of international recommendations. The paper is based on a descriptive analysis of the Council of Europe expectations and recommendations and their applicability in the Hungarian prison system. Hungary has successfully processed and incorporated mostly all of the expectation of the international parties, in fact, he took further steps to make the pandemic’s outreached contacts of prisoners and relatives more colourful and active. Prevention and control measures adopted in timely manner were effective also in Hungary, as well in other Council of Europe member state. This study highlights the critical importance of fast and reasonable actions of international control bodies and the open and cooperative response of the national prison services.

Trends in Juvenile Delinquency from a Criminal Psychology and Criminology Perspective

Baráth Noémi Emőke — 2023-08-01

Juvenile crime has been showing a downward trend for years both in Hungary and internationally. Despite this, many young people are still caught by the authorities. In the study, we use the analysis of Hungarian and international statistical data to see what structural changes have occurred in the structure of crime in the past period. We assume that the – temporarily – punishable deviant behaviour of the child and juvenile population, in the absence of a suitable treatment system, turns from episodic perpetration into a series of acts. We will examine how the social, economic, demographic and legislative background influences juvenile delinquency and which psychological explanations help to understand and manage the path leading to the development of the situation.

It is also important to keep technological changes in mind, since there are an increasing number of juveniles among the perpetrators of cybercrimes. Data quality and statistical diversity also present challenges to researchers, we also try to synthesise these data in the article, which can provide an explanation for why other data can be found in some databases that are not in line with each other. The study partially covers the explanation of the criminological and criminal psychological reasons behind the commission of crime. The performed analysis can contribute to the more efficient functioning of the investigative authority and the welfare system dealing with juveniles, by providing a prismatic overview of the changing trends in this paper.

Inside Victims, Outside Offenders: A Case Study on Crime Reporting

Füstös Mónika — 2023-08-01

In political and media rhetoric throughout Europe, migrants and refugees are often linked to crime; especially to gender-based crimes. This paper, focusing on Hungary, examines whether media discourses perpetuate this image and to what extent do other attributes of offenders (such as ethnicity and class) influence the way the media represent those involved in rape cases. The 720 articles sampled for this study were analysed using qualitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis, with Lindgren and Lundström’s model on inside victims/offenders and outside victims/offenders and Nils Christie’s theory on ideal victims being applied to the findings. Results show that the media in Hungary is more likely to grant victim status to those who are insiders (Hungarian, white, middle class) when their offenders are outsiders (migrant, Roma, lower class), while socially marginalised offenders are automatically externalised. The paper also shows that marginalised people are externalised collectively, while insiders are externalised individually. The application of Christie’s theory further strengthens the relational hypothesis that the ideal (or outsider) offender makes the ideal victim.

Búcsúzás Zsinka András ny. r. altábornagytól

Janza Frigyes — 2023-08-01

Búcsúzás Zsinka András ny. r. altábornagytól

Self-injury and Its Criminal Correlates among Hungarian Juvenile Offenders

Bellavics Mária — 2023-08-01

Self-injury is an important problem in incarcerated populations worldwide. This behaviour may be explained by circumstantial factors as incarceration per se may trigger stress responses that result in suicide and other forms of self-harming. On the other hand, certain psychiatric disorders are associated with an increased risk of self-injury and recent findings suggest that psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent in prison and reformatory populations. As a first attempt to study this issue in Hungarian underage criminals, we investigated the prevalence of self-injury and suicidal ideation in reformatory institutions. These were established in 84 incarcerated male juvenile offenders by the MINI KID structured psychiatric inventory. The study lasted 2 years. About one sixth (16.66%) of offenders had a suicidal history. More than half showed self-harming behaviour (N = 47, 55.95%) and 5 subjects reported suicidal ideation at the time of the assessment (5.95%). The suicidal tendency did not reach the level of actual life-threatening condition in any participant. These findings show that self-harming behaviour is rather frequent in the correctional system and requires further research, e.g. studies on the psychiatric antecedents of this behaviour. The findings of such studies may be applicable both in practice and in the education of law enforcement professionals.

Specific Criminal Profiling and Interrogation Techniques as Forensic Psychology Methods in Hungarian Law Enforcement

Erdélyi Ákos — 2023-08-01

One of the applied areas of criminal psychology, the forensic psychology presents how the knowledge of psychology can be applied in the most optimal way in order to effectively detect individual crimes. A trend has appeared in law enforcement agencies for psychologists to carry out special activities in the criminal field. One specific activity is criminal profiling and the other is the development of the most effective interrogation techniques. Now I attempt to present these two specific criminal tasks of psychology.

I present a literature review on how forensic psychology can be used during profiling and the planning of special interrogations.

Despite the fact that offender profiling is not new for law enforcement agencies, its clinical trend has begun to appear and spread independently in recent years. The application of psychology in the planning of individual interrogations is a much more researched field and used during weekday work.

Criminal Law Means for Counteraction to Corruption in Ukraine and Poland

Franchuk Vasyl — 2023-08-01

During the scientific research of any criminal-legal phenomenon or process, it is considered necessary to conduct an analysis of the origin of this phenomenon in a foreign country. This provides an opportunity not only to grasp the essence and understand the content of the subject of research, but also to develop effective countermeasures and borrow foreign experience. This becomes especially important in matters of combating corruption, when the criminal acts of officials reach not only domestic, but also international scales.
Scientists’ positions, as well as the provisions of the current legislation in Ukraine and the Republic of Poland concerning the definition of the criminal law provisions for liability for corruption offenses are being researched, which is made on the relevant differences regarding the legislative enactment of the concept of “corruption” and its definition in the criminal law theory. Accordingly, a comparative approach to the methods of legislative consolidation of anti-corruption provides an opportunity to understand the social conditioning of the emergence of this phenomenon.
Taking into account the integration processes in all spheres of life activity of society, the difference in the method of normative consolidation of actions forming such a phenomenon as corruption was revealed. This, in turn, not only indicates different forms of legislative fixation of the concept of the phenomenon, but also causes difficulties in the exchange of law enforcement practice, which causes a number of problems for both the relevant law enforcement agencies and ordinary citizens. A clear division and distinction between provisions on liability for corruption and corruption-related offenses was revealed.
Taking into account the position of the domestic criminal law doctrine, the analysis of the current Polish legislation provided an opportunity to formulate real options for borrowing foreign experience to solve the specified problems.

The Role of the Public Prosecutor in the Investigation

Vári Vince — 2023-08-01

The study describes the prosecutor’s role in the initiation phase of the criminal procedure: in the preparatory procedure, the powers, tasks, management and supervision activities authorised by the Criminal Procedure Act are presented in detail. In the investigative stages following the preparatory procedure, the study includes an overview and precise delimitation of the conditions under which we can speak separately about the preliminary investigation and the inspection stage. This section emphasises the differences concerning the relationship between the investigating authority and the prosecutor’s office, depending on whether it is a preliminary investigation or an inspection phase. At the end of the study, the prosecutor’s guidance typical of the inspection phase will be described. Precisely fixing the specific powers of the Criminal Procedure Act, determined for the prosecutor to carry out the management tasks of the investigation effectively.

The Relationship between the Framing of Speeding Messages and Changes in Attitude of Generation Z Respondents

Uricska Erna — 2023-08-01

Police communication with the public is a vital process, and it should be considered a key area of research in the digital era. Until the 2000s, police messages reached the community through traditional media channels. Nowadays, there is an opportunity for e-community policing: to identify problems in the online sphere, propose solutions and improve police-community relations through the appropriate use of social networking sites. This study is a pioneering one as no research has yet been carried out that analysed the visual effects of Hungarian police communication on social media. The observed sample was collected by systematic sampling and, using the perspective of emotions as frames, a questionnaire survey was conducted among Generation Z members to investigate the elicited emotions and their persuasive effects. The aim of this empirical research is to demonstrate that visuals created by the police may be of particular importance in crime prevention.