International Law Enforcement Observer XIX

Abstract

Abstract

Aim: The thematic focus of the XIX issue of the Observer is defined by studies that explore the contradictions inherent in law enforcement and policing tasks, as well as in the procedures applied by police officers responsible for their execution. One such contradiction lies, on the one hand, in the resolute deployment of powers deriving from the monopoly on the legitimate use of force – aimed at restricting offenders in order to prevent criminal conduct – and, on the other hand, in the supportive, protective professional ethos of public authority, primarily serving the purpose of prevention.

Methodology: In the course of presenting a research study examining the attitudes of Australian police officers, Nikiforosz Packosz concluded that “police officers with a warrior-oriented outlook are more inclined to use coercion as a tool, whereas proponents of a guardian-oriented approach prefer the principles of fair procedure and strive to establish good relations with society.” A similar contradiction is highlighted in the study by Magdolna Gazsó, which provides insight into changes within the psychiatric institutional system in Germany. Here, the contradiction can be captured in the fact that while policing tasks aim at ensuring security, the authorities are simultaneously obliged to provide supportive protection for patients. A possible solution also emerges: “in Hungary, psychology and psychiatry are still surrounded by a high degree of distrust, which – this I state, of course, without empirical research – characterizes certain segments of the police organization just as much as large parts of civil society. Therefore, if we wish to achieve change in this area, education should be given a significant role not only with regard to civilians, but also in relation to members of the police force.”

Findings: Olivér Tamás Csiki draws attention to the following: “According to public opinion surveys, the population shows a high level of trust in the police; however, this seemingly contradicts the unfortunate trend of an increasing number of violent acts against police officers, as well as the growing critical attitudes toward the police practice of racial profiling.”

Dániel Csete presents the opportunities inherent in tourism and the conflicts arising from them: “The central aim of the study is to examine the relationship between tourists’ perceptions of safety and their future behavior in the post-COVID-19 period. The authors proceed from the recognition that the recovery of global tourism largely depends on the extent to which destinations are able to rebuild tourists’ subjective sense of safety and how effectively they can manage various risks. Consequently, the issue of safety is not merely a direct operational factor – such as the level of healthcare services or police presence – but a key prerequisite for long-term economic and social sustainability.”

Kristóf Öveges reports on an American study whose very title is striking: The United States as a Prison State. Öveges draws attention to the following contradiction characterizing the American situation: “Although the number of crimes has for decades largely remained stable or shown a declining trend, the most recent research taking crime trends into account indicates that penal severity has continued to increase even as incarceration rates have decreased. This suggests that actors within the criminal justice apparatus – particularly prosecutors and judges – have maintained high incarceration rates despite a decline in the ‘supply’ of crime.” The trend identified here suggests that, among supportive and welfare-oriented versus punitive and retributive criminal policy approaches, the latter continues to dominate the U.S. justice system.

Value: Each of the foreign research examples presented is suitable for drawing the following conclusion, as pointed out by Magdolna Gazsó: “…although the results of a small-scale study cannot be generalized, they may nevertheless assist in developing the methodology for a large-scale study to be conducted at some point in the future. To use a postmodern expression: this small-sample study has shown us the ocean in a drop.” Another conclusion may be that law enforcement and criminal justice continue to be shaped by the dual value principles of utility and humanity. Utility – defined as the protection of society – reinforces the resolute application of the monopoly on force and punitive sanctions, while the value principle emphasizes supportive and solidaristic approaches, from which even the offender cannot be excluded.