The role of police in community crime prevention

Transforming Hungarian policing into knowledge-based policing

Community Crime Prevention• Community Crime Prevention (later: CCP) is a

professionally committed social movement aiming at achieving a better public order by– curbing consequences of underlying crime causes– reducing risk of victimisation– diminishing incidence of offending

• CCP clusters professional and civil agents of crime prevention

• National Crime Prevention Board is CCP headquarter• National Strategy of Community Crime Prevention is

in force from November 2003

Public Order – a socially devoted approach

• Public order is– a collective achievement of the society– a result of the co-operation of efforts &

endeavours – a product of the whole community accomplished

by co-operation of social & professional partners

• Police is a key player in establishing public order

• None of the possible partners has monopole position in producing public order

Structure of the Hungarian police

• Hungarian police is– highly centralised– militarised– separated from civil administration

• Unchanged is good even in a changing world

• Changes worsen efficiency

• Sworn police officers are subordinated to a strict and militant hierarchy

Functions of the Hungarian police

• Key functions of the Hungarian police involve– criminal law enforcement– maintaining public order – the concept of visible policing– traffic enforcement– immigration enforcement (due to soon merger with now

independent Border Guard)• Hungarian police is a uniform organisation – no

functional or professional independence is granted either branches of police activities

• Hungarian police is a militarised organisation – being a brave police officer is often simplified to following orders & commands

Efficiency of the Hungarian police

• The police appraises its own efficiency– it supplies the gauge to measure

– it monopolises the data upon which its appraisal stands

• No outsiders or ‘civilians’ shall be welcome to evaluate the police and its work

• No cost & benefit analyses• The police always appraises its work & performance

perfect and assumes itself the best possible solution

Performance of the Hungarian police

• Hungarian police does reactive policing & focuses on law enforcement

• It is widely empowered to implement means of secret & under cover detection (police intelligence)

• Maintaining public order & traffic enforcement often involves challenging everyday citizens for ID without reason

• No full compliance with human rights, fundamental freedoms & constitutional safeguards

Knowledge of the Hungarian police

• Police is the fieldworker of law enforcement• Police still holds the monopoly of case-oriented

knowledge, i.e.– has a general overview of the crime complex– experiences changes in both structure & volume of crime– perceives shifts in territorial features of offending– holds the knowledge of how to investigate into and enforce

criminal offences

• Police is a key supplier of crime statistics in Hungary• Police possesses enormous forensic expertise

What is CCP waiting from the police

• To be a co-operating professional partner• To pay attention to the needs of those communities it

serves & protects• To be considerate to community policing values• To work together in preparing people not to conceive

public order any more as a social service funded and supplied by the government

• To contribute to strengthening self-defence capabilities of citizens, communities and market players

What makes policing knowledge-based

• Giving up believing that police is the monopole supplier of public order

• Approaching crime problems with a CCP attitude• Employing knowledge & expertise CCP accumulated

in everyday policing• Involving citizens & municipalities in producing &

maintaining public order• Being open towards recent findings of criminal

sciences and criminological research

Thank youfor your kind

attention