Hungary: Police protection available to Roma in Budapest and Pécs, including effectiveness (2012-January 2014)
Information on the effectiveness of police protection available to Roma in Budapest and Pécs was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. However, the following information may be of interest.
1. Police Response to Crimes Committed Against Roma
Sources indicate that there are no specific procedures for investigations involving Roma and the police do not provide specific protection to Roma if they are victims of a hate crime or if they receive threats (HHC 15 Jan. 2014; HCLU 8 Jan. 2014). According to a report published in 2013 by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), an international public interest law organization with consultative status with the Council of Europe (n.d.), there are no specific guidelines or protocols for police and prosecutors on how to investigate and prosecute hate crimes in Hungary (ERRC Apr. 2013, 9). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU), a Budapest-based non-profit human rights organization, stated that, according to several human rights NGOs,
- racist motivation behind crimes committed against Roma is often ignored by the police, thus the investigation is carried out based on other, less harshly sanctioned crimes;
- even if racist motivation is taken into consideration, the investigation is often ineffective, the police often fail to take measures to find the perpetrator[s]. (HCLU 8 Jan. 2014)
The ERRC similarly noted that police officers, court officials and prosecutors are "reluctant to consider racial bias motivation as an aggravating circumstance to crimes" (Apr. 2013, 9). The HCLU representative noted that
the police often fail to carry out the investigation on the appropriate organizational level ("violation against a member of the community," which is the most common hate crime, has to be investigated by the County Police Office according to the law, [but], in many cases the lower level Police Office carries out the investigation). (8 Jan. 2014)
According to the ERRC,
there is no systematic monitoring of racist violence, or the collection of data disaggregated by ethnicity about the victims of crimes. There are no reliable statistics on the real number of racially-motivated crimes in Hungary: according to available statistics the number of cases investigated under the hate crime provision in Hungary's Criminal Code is extremely low. (Apr. 2013, 9)
Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
2. Police Training
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative of the National Police Headquarters in Budapest stated that police officers receive training in conflict-management "related to the members of social minorities" (Hungary 14 Jan. 2014). According to the police representative, during the orientation given to the police personnel
special emphasis is placed on the prohibition of discrimination, the significance of police behaviour that is free of prejudice, and the importance of objectivity, which is required in every case during [police] actions. In parallel with this, training in Roma studies has proceeded vigorously. In connection with this training, [police personnel] have gained insight into the situation of the [Roma] community, the characteristics of the [Roma] way of life, and the differences that arise from it. (ibid.).
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative of the government's Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary, similarly stated that as part of their educational program in police schools, students learn about "handling prejudice and accepting those who are 'different'"; their "victim protection" training has "special emphasis on the protection of minority victims" (ibid. 6 Jan. 2014). All the information provided by the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary should be considered "exclusively as reference; however it should not be considered as the official position thereof" (ibid.).
The police representative further stated that within the police force, the Central Working Group for the Maintenance of Contact with Minorities was created to maintain relations between police and the Roma community (ibid. 14 Jan. 2014). According to the representative, a director of the regional police agency maintains contact with Roma communities at the national level and "minority liaison officers" maintain contact at the local level (ibid.). Without providing details, the representative noted that on several occasions, when violent incidents occurred in public, the district police stations requested the intervention of minority community leaders, who helped to resolve the situation (ibid.). The police representative stated that in November 2013, a conference was held for the leaders of the Central Working Group for the Maintenance of Contact with Minorities to meet with "specialists" whose research focuses on the prevention of crimes motivated by racism (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
Without providing details, the HCLU indicated that police officers received the following training:
- The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe held a two-day training on hate crimes for police in 2012; and
- The Háttér Society, an NGO promoting rights of LGBTQ community, held trainings on hate crimes for police officers in November 2013 (HCLU 8 Jan. 2014, 2).
The representative of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary indicated that police officers from Pécs, Baranya County, attended several annual training programs in the past five years that focused on "inter-cultural and awareness" (Hungary 6 Jan. 2014). Further and corroborating information on the police training could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
3. Procedures to Lodge a Complaint Against a Police Officer
Two sources indicate that the procedures to lodge a complaint against a police officer in Budapest and Pécs are the same (HHC 15 Jan. 2014; HCLU 8 Jan. 2014) because the Police Act is regulated on the national level (ibid.). The HCLU representative explained that, according to the Police Act, an individual whose rights have been violated can file a complaint with a police chief or with the Independent Police Complaint Board (ibid.). The HCLU representative further stated that if the police officer commits a crime, a victim can file a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office which will carry out an investigation (ibid.). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC), a Budapest-based non-profit organization that monitors the enforcement of human rights in Hungary and provides legal assistance to victims of human rights abuses, stated that Article 92 of the Police Act
sets out that anybody, who believes that a breach of an obligation set out in Chapter IV (general principles of police action), Chapter V (rules of police measures) - with a few exceptions, such as measures related to the participation in the witness protection program -, or Chapter VI (rules of coercive measures) of the Police Act, a police measure and the omission thereof, or the application of a coercive measure violated his/her fundamental rights, may file a complaint with the police unit responsible for the measure, or the Independent Police Complaints Board. (HHC 15 Jan. 2014, emphasis in original)
According to the representative of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary:
[c]omplaints against police actions or police officers may be filed to:
- police headquarters under whose jurisdiction the police action was carried out
- the Independent Police Complaints Board; [and]
- the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (Ombudsman)
The same source further noted that with regard to the tracking of police complaints
[p]rior to 2008 the commissioners of county police headquarters, including Baranya County and Budapest Metropolitan Police Commissioners, had to submit annual reports on any complaints, accusations or claims protesting discriminative police actions or proceeding clearly motivated by the subject's ethnic (Roma) background. This practice was abolished in November 2008; therefore, currently there are no records whatsoever of any disciplinary actions against police officers taken on the above mentioned grounds. (Hungary 6 Jan. 2014)
For more information on complaints against police by Roma and procedures to lodge a complaint against a police officer, please see Response to Information Request HUN103826.E.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC). April 2013. Written Comments by the European Roma Rights Centre Concerning Hungary: For Consideration by the European Commission on the Transposition and Application of the Race Directive and on the Legal Issues Relevant to Roma Integration. [Accessed 13 Dec. 2013]
European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC). N.d. "Who We Are." [Accessed 13 Dec. 2013]
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU). 8 January 2014. Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate.
Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC). 15 January 2014. Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate.
Hungary. 14 January 2014. National Police Headquarters. Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate. Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Hungary. 6 January 2014. Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary. Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate.
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: academics at Leident University and Corvinus University of Budapest; Fraternal Association of European Roma Law Enforcement Officers; Háttér Society; Hungary – Embassy of Hungary in Ottawa, Equal Treatment Authority, Head of Crime Prevention Department, Ministry of Interior, police stations in Budapest and Pécs; National Association of Roma Police Officers; Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; Phralipe Independent Roma Organization.
A representative of the European Roma Rights Centre was unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Response.
A representative of the Decade of Roma Inclusion was unable to provide information on police protection available to Roma in Budapest and Pécs.
Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Budapest Sun; The Budapest Times; Council of Europe; Decade of Roma Inclusion; ecoi.net; Equinet European Network of Equality Bodies; European Union; European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights; Factiva; Fraternal Association of European Roma Law Enforcement Officers; Háttér Society; Hungary – Equal Treatment Authority, Independent Police Complaints Board, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, Police.hu; International Police Association; Mundi Romani; Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; Open Society Foundation; Phralipe Independent Roma Organization; Politics.hu; United Nations – Integrated Regional Information Networks, Refworld; United States – Department of State.