The History of Local Governmental Law Enforcement in Hungary

Abstract

This paper is intended to briefly summarize the history of the Hungarian local governmental law enforcement from the Middle Ages to the present day. The role of the municipal police in local governmental law enforcement and the reasons for its dissolution, as well as the attempt to re-establish them during the transition period in Hungary, are highlighted. The historical development of the field police and the later formed field guard service is also an integral part of the paper, along with a brief outline of the history of public space surveillance that forms the basis and backbone of our current local governmental law enforcement system.