The Hungarian Police in the Period of the Regime Change

Abstract

As in most countries of Eastern and Central Europe, the change of regime took place in Hungary in 1989, as a result of a process. Our country stepped on the road to democracy which – contrary to the previous routine – produced and demanded a complete shift in attitudes from the members of state administration. Besides structurally reforming the country’s economy, it was equally important to reorganise the executive power, the central point of which was the Hungarian Police. However, as an inevitable outcome of the change of regime and the establishment of the market economy, new kinds of criminal activities appeared. Consequently, the Police met with actions which it had typically not experienced before. In addition, people who were not in agreement on something expressed their views and took to the streets, thus mass demonstrations took place within a short time. Furthermore, by means of privatisation an extremely significant change of owners occurred in the society. Regarding the Police, this change led to the destruction of the former collective ownership’s central defence, and private security organisations turned up then grew stronger. Thus, the reassessment of the previously unknown private security also happened in connection with the change in the economic, social and ownership relations, as well as in the financial situation. These events along with the budget constraints and the outdated technical supplies made the Police’s situation more difficult. Concerning the Police’s restructuring, basically there were two directions. According to one of them, the Police had to be decentralised, by allowing the local councils to intervene more in the Police’s operation, or by establishing municipal Police. Representatives of the other viewpoint supported the centralised Police, which has been present and has been holding its ground in Hungary since 1920. The government programme of 1990 mentioned the organisation of a unified police force. Finally, the latter standpoint was implemented.