During the Communist era, police in Central and Eastern Europe were usually regarded by citizens with fear and distrust. Although the criminal justice system has been significantly reformed, this distrust has been difficult to dispel. Hungary has a constitution committed to protecting civilian rights, legal equality, and democratic principles, but the criminal justice system is still learning to function well within the community. Discrimination against minorities, particularly the Roma, who often live in poor housing and have limited education, remains a significant problem in Hungary. Historically, the relationship between minorities and the criminal justice system has been marked by discrimination, prejudice, and mistrust.

In order to help break down these prejudices, Partners-Hungary conducted a series of trainings and workshops to promote dialogue between police and community residents in Nograd County, where fifteen percent of the population are Roma – the highest percentage in the country. In the town of Ersekvadkert, Partners-Hungary facilitated a forum to examine the discriminatory actions of a local police officer against Roma. Forum participants included the chief of the Nograd County police, city policemen, local Roma leaders, the mayor, and local citizens. Before this forum, Partners-Hungary staff met individually with each Roma leader to emphasize the importance of the meeting and encourage attendance despite the deep-rooted suspicion of the Roma toward police officers and authorities in general.

As a result of the forum, a task force was set up to investigate the discriminatory allegations, to follow up on them, and to prevent such problems in the future. Roma citizens reported a marked improvement in their relations with the police after the forum.

Additional cooperative planning sessions led to the establishment of the Nograd County Security Program, which is composed of subcommittees that work to foster crime prevention and police/community interaction. Included in this program is an ethnic subcommittee, which facilitates communication between police and minority members and organizes programs for mutual understanding and cooperative planning.

Moreover, these sessions led to a decision that the police department should train and hire Roma as police officers in order to “build bridges with the Roma communities,” as one of the forum participants put it. The Nograd police department continues to train its staff on Roma culture, behavior and values.

Another important outcome of the project was the establishment of regular summer camps for Roma children and children of police officers, sponsored by the county police headquarters and the Association of Roma Minority Governments. While overcoming prejudice and mistrust among adults is crucial, it takes time for people to change their attitudes and reconcile their differences, said Gyula Hrabecz, a major with the national police force who had been involved in the project. “It is important to start with the children, because they are more flexible,” he added.

Additional Resources
Press Release Announcing Launch of Partners & USAID Roma Initiative
(Microsoft Word Document)