The history of the Hungarian law enforcement higher education and its possible future objectives

Abstract

The Police College of Budapest has undergone significant development since 1st of September 1971 – when it began to operate – till nowadays, but the most significant conversion of this College – including the necessarily conducted changes after the systematic change and the Bologna-type multiple-cycle educational system which was established (in an ascending system) in 2006 – is yet to come. In this qualification area of the higher education the College has occupied a dominant place in the past forty years. In addition we can say that nowadays it provides education on the entire field of law enforcement. According to the obligations arising from the Bologna Process in 2006 a relatively modern, multiple-cycle higher educational institute comes into existence on the field of law enforcement, and in the possession of the BA qualification acquired here the graduates should start their duty as officers, civil servants or government employees for a law enforcement body or in the civil security sphere, or they should continue their studies on the College’s own master training or on the cooperating universities adequate trainings. But the progression of the principles settled in the Bologna declaration shows an inconsistent view, because paying attention to the special conditions of this training the possibility of mobility is limited for both students and candidates, the equivalence and acceptance of diplomas in the field of law enforcement in other countries is inconceivable, and because of the limited possibility of mobility the transfer of credits or acquisition of credits in other higher-educational institutes is also running into considerable difficulties. The „survival” as a Faculty of Law Enforcement within the institution of the National University of Public-service can provide a solution for the currently existing problems such as the lack of post-graduate training in the field of law enforcement or the limited number of mobility programs, but it can also give rise to other questions which must be solved.