NCJ Number
171865
Journal
Crime and Justice International Volume: 13 Issue: 2 Dated: March 1997 Pages: 4-6
Date Published
March 1997
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Hungary's capital city of Budapest has been rocked by a rash of gangland bombings and shootings, resulting in a dozen deaths and the subsequent firing of the country's top four police officials.
Abstract
Just over 20 unusually violent attacks have occurred over the past few months, including a mortar attack on a nightclub that killed two people, five bombings, and a number of premeditated violent attacks on store owners (apparently gang- related). Police say the attacks are part of a power struggle between the Ukrainian and Hungarian mafias, as well as several smaller splinter groups of organized criminals, whose rise has been one of the worst by-products of Hungary's transition to capitalism. With apparently unchecked gang violence mounting and accusations of police corruption being leveled from all sectors of the government, Interior Minister Gabor Kuncze fired Hungary's top four police officers in December 1996, citing a rising trend of corruption within the police force, coupled with a lack of progress in stemming the recent tide of violent crime in Budapest. The new national police commander, Laszlo Forgacs, has called for an increase in the strength of the police force and a large-scale introduction of new computer and communications technology.