The ministerial commissioner of the Ministry of Justice, István Kónya, cited the statistical data in his interview with Mandiner, talked about the enforcement of the rights of victims, protracted cases and the Civil Code. also about the reasons for the increase in facts.

-According to his re-appointment in July, one of his duties is to monitor the entry into force of laws on criminal material, procedural and penal law. What are your experiences, and to what extent have the renewed criminal law codes fulfilled your expectations?

For the past ten years, the criminal law codification has carried out the re-codification of criminal codes, completing the complete transformation of the legal system. The results are supported by objective data: the number of crimes registered in the police procedure decreased by almost sixty percent between 2009 and 2020. Their number was 375,383 in 2009, and only 152,974 in 2020.

- The continuous increase in crime shocked society, kept it in fear and tension, and demoralized the public.

This situation has changed radically with the new penal policy set by the government, the essence of which is to create solidity of public conditions in Hungary, the security of existence of the law-abiding citizen, and public peace. Legislation serving these purposes had its effect already in 2013, because this year there were almost 100,000 fewer crimes than in the previous year. The decline in crime in less than a decade is unique in Europe, but also remarkable in the world. However, behind the improvement are not only legislative results and changes in the legal environment, but also a complex package of government measures that also included effective social and employment policy decisions. An example is the preference for public employment over aid-based subsidies.

- There are crimes of a nature to which society is particularly sensitive, such as homicides and crimes against property. What has happened in this field in recent years?

The number of homicides decreased from 303 to 203 in the examined decade, while the number of completed homicides decreased from 139 to 59. The number of crimes committed in public spaces, which significantly affect the well-being and sense of security of the population, has also changed significantly, from 115,110 such crimes in 2010 to 53,942 in 2020.

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Author: Róbert Baranya

Picture: Dávid Mátrai