NCJ Number
185266
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2000 Pages: 271-300
Date Published
September 2000
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This report uses Hungary as the main example of what happens to the police when a country is in transition toward a more democratic organization.
Abstract
In addition to using Hungary as the main example of this transition, information is also provided on other Eastern European countries in similar circumstances. First, the authors examine the dynamics of continuity and discontinuity in policing in the course of a transition from an authoritarian to a democratic form of government. Such a transition does not occur in a short time, but rather involves the erosion of previous values, attitudes, and behavioral patterns and the development of new values and behaviors over years and even decades. There is, however, an indisputable influence of political change on the police. In the course of the change of regimes, not only the police but also all the institutions that previously served the institutionalized control of criminality came to a crisis point, as their existence and functions came under scrutiny. The authors address the vacuum of legitimacy that comes with sudden political change and considers possible ways to develop public confidence in the police in the midst of political change, such as the auditing of the police, the democratization of the police, and the development of mechanisms for police accountability. A model for the democratic organization of the police (demilitarized, decentralized, and "de-concentrated") is outlined. 56 references