SOCIAL CHANGES, CRIME AND POLICE (FROM SOCIAL CHANGE, CRIME AND POLICE: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, JUNE 1-4, 1992, BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, P 149-153, 1993, JOZSEF VIGH AND GEZA KATONA, EDS. -- SEE NCJ-144794)

• NCJ Number: 144807
• Author(s): T Utriainen
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: Eotvos Lorand University
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Hungary

Annotation

In European countries -- where the maintenance of a constitutional state, the safeguarding of human rights, and a free market economy have priority -- police must be responsive to social change, since police action and priorities reflect the will of the people.

Abstract

So as to comply with the principles of a constitutional state, the power of the police must be based on a specific law. Legislation forms the legal infrastructure within which police activities are conducted. In an open society, this means that the norms that govern police actions emerge through open public discussion during the process of drafting and enacting legislation. The activities of the police must also be open, in the sense that the public and the media have an opportunity to monitor whether or not the police comply with current legislation. Technical and legislative development place increasing demands on police training. Training must include course work that ranges from human relationships to moral values. What must be emphasized above all in police training is the equality of citizens before the law and the integrity of the police. The monitoring of the police must ensure that police comply with the norms set by the society at large through its elected representatives and the legislation they enact. 4 references