Expert roundtable discuccion
On May 14, 2025, a roundtable discussion titled “Experts in Procedures: Active Substances, Quantities, Expert Opinions, Deliminations” took place at the National Institute of Criminology.
The event saw participation from prosecutors representing nearly all counties across the nation, who are colleagues with substantial experience in drug-related cases. Representing the Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences (HIFS) were Tamás Csesztregi, the Head of the Institute for Drug Forensic Expertise, Edina Bánfi, the Head of the Forensic Chemistry Department, and Antal Kricskovics, the Head of the Institute for Medical Expertise, who is also a medical forensic expert, all of whom contributed to the discussion.
From the National Centre for Public Health and Pharmacy, we were pleased to welcome Dr. Nelli Csöndör, the Head of the Department, Orsolya Orosz-Kovács, the Head of the Drugs Unit, Balázs Majzik, the Head of the Drug Prevention Programmes Unit, and Dr. Balázs Szécsényi, a Specialist in Drug Counterfeiting, as esteemed guests.
The roundtable discussion was conducted within the framework of the National Institute of Criminology 2025 work plan, focusing on the factors contributing to illicit substance abuse and research pertaining to the counterfeiting of medications.
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visit to the OKRI |
On May 13, 2025, we hosted two foreign and three Hungarian colleagues at our Institute as part of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) general exchange program conducted in English.
During the visit, Deputy Director Dr. György Virág presented the operations and activities of the National Institute of Criminology. Following this, participants were able to listen to presentations by scientific senior researchers Dr. Judit Szabó and Dr. Eszter Sárik regarding the Institute’s research projects related to child protection and child endangerment (specifically concerning the endangerment of minors), as well as the characteristics of juvenile delinquency, titled “Research projects related to child protection and child endangerment (endangerment of a minor)” and “Guilty youngsters? The features of juvenile criminality upon research conducted at the National Institute of Criminology”.
Cooperation agreement
with the Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences
On April 8, 2025, our Institute formalized a partnership with the Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences (HIFS) through a cooperation agreement.
This collaboration is rooted in the longstanding integration of expert evidence studies within OKRI’s research endeavours, which continues to be a central focus of inquiry as a vital component of evidence.
The agreement was executed by Dr Andrea Tünde Barabás, Director of OKRI, and Márton Lontai, Director General of the HIFS.
Day of Victims of Crime in 2025
The Victimology Section of the Hungarian Society of Criminology conducted a session titled 'In Search of Missing Children' on February 24, 2025, coinciding with the Day of Victims of Crime.
This event was collaboratively organized with the National Institute of Criminology (OKRI) and the Ludovika University of Public Service (LUPS). Despite being scheduled in the afternoon, the session attracted a significant audience, including numerous experts, university students, and members of the public.
The meeting commenced with opening remarks from Prof. Dr. Tünde A. Barabás, the Director of NIC, who also serves as the Head of the Department of Criminology at the Faculty of Law Enforcement at LUPS.
The Scientific Board meeting at OKRI in 2025
The annual meeting of the Scientific Board of the National Institute of Criminology (OKRI) took place on February 20, 2025.
Attendees included members of the Scientific Board, senior leaders from affiliated institutions, and their representatives. During the scientific session, the council reviewed, discussed, and unanimously approved the report on OKRI’s activities for 2024, a presentation on the findings of research examining asset recovery procedures, and the work plan for OKRI in 2025.
INVERT Training
Within the framework of the international project "Identifying compaNies and Victims in the Exploitation phase to disRupt the financial business model of adult and child labour Trafficking (INVERT)", awarded by the European Union Internal Security Fund programme, we organised a training for nearly 50 law enforcement officers on 17 October 2024. During the event, police officers, prosecutors and labour inspectorates worked in small groups to develop posters on a specific theme and to process a case. The training provided the participants with an opportunity to get away from their daily work for half a day, to recharge their batteries, to gain new knowledge, and to get to know each other's work, difficulties and possibilities for cooperation.
ECUPL delegation
On the 14 October 2024 the National Institute of Criminology hosted five representatives of the East China University of Political Science and Law (ECUPL) in Shanghai, with whom a professional meeting was held. The participants mutually introduced the operating principles of their institutes, the topics on research are being conducted and discussed the fundamental issues of Chinese and Hungarian criminal law.
Uzbek delegation
On the 17 September 2024 Bakhtiyor Erkinovich Berdialiev, the director of Research Institute of Criminology in Uzbekistan as a head of a delegation of researchers and Mr. Oybek Shakhavdinov, the Uzbek ambassador visited our institute. The members of the delegation could get a picture about the history and operation of OKRI, as well as about our running research-program. During the meeting, an agreement on future professional-scientific cooperation was also signed between the institutions.
