Annual report

 
Archive

REPORT

on the activities of the National Institute of Criminology (OKRI) in 2023

(Please find the final results of researches at "Research projects")

 

I)  UTILISATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS

We devoted considerable attention to the utilisation of our research results in this reporting period, too. Areas for the utilisation of results include cooperation in the development of theories and the presentation of research results in educational activities (in training courses for trainee prosecutors and junior prosecutors, in university and college education and postgraduate courses etc.), as well as at conferences and other professional events. Our researchers have published in and worked as editors or reviewers for several professional journals.

Their active involvement in scientific organisations is also of great importance. Our researchers who expressed their views in the media played an important role in informing the general public by presenting our results, approaches and opinions also in the course of the year under review as well.

1 Presentations

In 2023, researchers from the Institute delivered a total of 78 presentations at various conferences and professional forums. Of these presentations, 9 were delivered in a foreign language.
Requests to chair sections of conferences also indicate professional recognition and presume professional skills. In the reporting year, researchers from the Institute were requested to chair sections on 13 occasions.

2 Publications

During the reporting year, our researchers published altogether 77 publications, of which 4 were published in a foreign language. 4 of these were published abroad. 
This year, OKRI’s researchers wrote 9 book chapters, published 1 monography, and authored 41 studies published in academic journals. In addition, 13 papers were published in publications of the Institute, and 6 studies elsewhere (abstracts, websites other than the Institute’s etc.). Furthermore, our colleagues received requests to edit various professional publications and journals 7 times this year. It is increasingly common that some publications are not published in print but are only available online. It is therefore fortunate that the researchers of the Institute can also take advantage of the flexible publication opportunities provided by the internet.

3 Involvement in domestic and international professional cooperation and project tenders

3.1 Professional cooperation

– In response to an international invitation, we have joined the COST-action grant programme No. CA22128 ‘Establishing Networks to Implement the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations’ (IMPLEMENDEZ), which was established to create networks to implement the principles on effective interviewing for investigations, as a Hungarian partner (in accordance with the legislation, and on the basis of the nomination of the contact point of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office).
– We are involved in the international project ‘RECOVER - Crime doesn’t pay’ of Transcrime - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, which is the first impact assessment of Regulation (EU) 2018/1805 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders in the field of substantive criminal law.

3.2 Tenders

Year of submission: 2022
Description of the project: ISF-2022-TF1-AG-THB
Title/subject: Identifying compaNies and Victims in the Exploitation phase to disRupt the financial business model of adult and child labour Trafficking (INVERT)
Parners:  Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan, Transcrime Research Centre – National Institute of Criminology

4 Involvement in professional organisations

Professional recognition of the Institute’s researchers is indicated by requests to participate in the work of various professional organisations and bodies, and effective contributions to them. Most researchers are members and/or officers of one or more Hungarian or international organisations having a profile associated with research topics.

In 2023, the Institute’s staff took part in the work of the following international professional bodies:
– European Forum for Restorative Justice – advocate membership
– European Society of Criminology – membership
– European Sourcebook on Crime and Statistics – prosecution contact point
– Independent Academic Research Studies – membership

5 Education

5.1 OKRI researchers provide regular training courses at the following higher education institutions:

• Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Department of Criminology
• Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology
• Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Institute of Criminal Sciences
• Matthias Corvinus Collegium Law School
• National University of Public Service, Faculty of Law Enforcement, Department of Criminology
• National University of Public Service, Faculty of Law Enforcement, Department of Criminal Law
• National University of Public Service, Doctoral School of Law
• Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Department of Substantive Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Sentencing
• Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Department of Environmental Law
• Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Deák Ferenc Institute

5.2 Taught subjects, courses:

• Applied criminology
• Basics of criminology
• Crimes and offenders (course)
• Criminal law
• Criminal psychology
• Criminology
• Domestic violence, child abuse (violent crime course)
• Environmental law
• International and domestic action against environmental crime
• Law and literature
• Persons in criminal proceedings (seminar)
• Practical criminology
• Relationship/domestic violence
• Theoretical criminology
• Theory and practice of crime prevention
• Victimology
• Violence and crime

5.3 Prosecutor training activities

The Institute’s researchers were also involved in the training activities of the prosecution service during the reporting period: our Institute organized 3 professional-scientific conferences in the framework of continuing education for credit points – attended by nearly 100 prosecutors – and our researchers also participated in the training of prosecution statisticians with 2 presentations.

6 Media appearances

According to our records, researchers from the Institute featured as experts in print and electronic media on a total of 47 registered occasions in 2023: they appeared in the media 4 times in the printed press, 8 times in the radio, 18 times on a television channel and 17 times on the internet.
The Institute’s communication activities and the coordination of communication between the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Institute are each handled by one of our colleagues, who are appointed as press officers and deputy press officers respectively.

II)  DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN RELATIONS

1 OKRI’s domestic relations

In general, the Hungarian relations of the Institute were similar to those in previous years.
Relations were the closest again with the Prosecutor General’s Office and with the prosecution apparatus in general. Almost a fourth of the work plan projects (6 research projects) were initiated by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Professional cooperation with the Institute for Legal Studies of the Centre for Social Science Research (TK JTI) and the National Office for the Judiciary continued in the year under review. One of our conferences was organised together with Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences.
As a representative of the Prosecutor General's Office, we regularly participate in the ordinary meetings of the Committee for the Security Assessment of Sport Events, as well as in the electronic preparation of the classification proposals in out-of-court procedures, and we also regularly participate in the meetings of the Security Committee of the Hungarian Football Federation. One of our researchers is an invited member of the network of prosecutors specialised in human trafficking.
A colleague has received a scholarship in the framework of the New National Excellence Programme Bolyai+ Higher Education Young Teacher, Researcher Scholarship Tender.
In 2023, researchers participated in domestic conferences or round table professional discussions on 76 occasions - mostly online - where they delivered presentations on special request, and on a further 97 occasions, they participated in domestic conferences without delivering a presentation.
By tradition, our professors participate in the work of institutes of higher education; several of them have university rank.
During the reporting period, the Institute hosted 9 interns from the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of Eötvös Loránd University, the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Pázmány Péter Catholic University and the International Studies programme of Corvinus University.

2 OKRI’s international relations

In the year under review, our researchers gave a total of 29 presentations at various conferences, represented the Institute at 2 international events and participated in 12 international events (in person/online/hybrid) without giving a presentation.
On 27 September, a delegation from the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China visited our institute, led by First Deputy Procurator-General Tong Jianming, accompanied by István Lajtár, Deputy Procurator-General of Public Law of Hungary.
On 9 October, a delegation from Shanghai University paid an official visit to our institute.
Our staff made full use of the opportunities offered by online platforms during the reporting year: in addition to participating in international scientific events, they also used them for self-training on various courses.
It is worth highlighting that our staff made full use of the opportunities offered by online platforms during the reporting period: in addition to participating in international scientific events, they also used them for self-training on various courses.

In the context of international relations, the staff of the Institute participated in the following forums:

• Looking Forward in 2023 – Cybersecurity Trends and Predictions
     Online webinar, 26 January, Organiser: Imperva–IT Security and Risk Management Government Industry
• The Intellectual Property Crime Investigation Handbook
     Online book launch konference, 25 April, Organiser: European Union Intellectual Property Office 
• Identifying compaNies and Victims in the Exploitation phase to disRupt the financial business model of adult and child labour Trafficking – Kick off meeting
     Online project meeting, 4 July, Organiser: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore–Transcrime
• Cybercrime and electronic evidence
     HELP E-learning program, August, Organiser: Council of Europe
• Tracking Cybercriminals into the Shadows: 2023 Mid-Year Cyber Threat Report
     Online webinar, 19 September, Organiser: BrightTALK
• Binance webinar
     International webinar, 5 Ocktober, Organiser: Prosecutor General’s Office
• Workshop to assess the characterizing features of places of abuse and victims of THB for labour Exploitation
     Online workshop, 22 November, Organiser: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore–Transcrime
• Dissemination of the 1st year’s results of the RECOVER project on “Mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders between efficiency and the rule of law” – Regulation (EU) 2018/1805 JUST-2022-JCOO (EU)/ Project 101091375 Co-funded by the Justice Programme of the European Union 2021-2027
     Online internartional conference, 30 November, Organiser: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore–Transcrime

III)  LIBRARY

The library stock expanded by 78 volumes between January 2023 and 4 December 2023 and currently consists of 9,927 inventory units.

Exchanges and gifts are important sources of enlarging our collection. We consider it a priority to maintain good relations: mutual cooperation with libraries collecting books from similar sources facilitates the librarians’ work and the information provided to library users. Our exchange partners are the following: the libraries of the Max Planck Institute of Freiburg, the Office of the Prosecutor General, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, the Curia, the Faculty of Law Enforcement of the National University of Public Service, the Constitutional Court and the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights. A good professional relationship has also been established with the Library of the Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office.
Our library manager will continue to select the literature of the Prosecutor General’s Office’s peer-reviewed professional and scientific journal, the Prosecution Review, and, if required, will assist researchers in recording their MTMT data and uploading their full-text studies to REAL.
Last year, we contacted the DOI office of the Library and Information Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and an agreement was reached to assign a DOI identifier to the articles of the Institute’s annual journal, Criminological Studies. We received the necessary prefix and the DOI number of the articles is being updated.

This year, our journal, Criminological Studies, has been classified as a category B journal by the Committee of State and Legal Studies of Department XI of Economics and Law of the Academy of Sciences.

In 2023, we will subscribe to the following databases:
• Oxford Handbooks Online (OHO) Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Hungarian legislation in force in three languages (published by Wolters Kluwer)

At present, the library subscribes to the following international periodicals: The British Journal of Criminology; European Journal of Criminology; Kriminalistik; Monatsschrift für Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform.

IV) INTERNAL CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM OF THE INSTITUTE

8 presentations were delivered in the internal continuous development system of the Institute during the current year, which were held partly online, partly in person.

• Criminal law protection of animals Poisonings against protected and endangered animals 
      Rapporteur: Katalin Tilki, Date: 25 January
• The practice of online drug trafficking 
      Rapporteur: Ildikó Ritter, Date: 29 March
• The role and activities of Dr Tamás Kovács at the National Institute of Criminology 
      Rapporteur: László Tibor Nagy, Date: 3 May:
•  Falling back or staying on one’s feet? 
      Rapporteurs: Orsolya Bolyky & Eszter Sárik, Date: 24 May 
•  Human rights protection in criminal proceedings in Europe
      Rapporteurs: Anna Kiss & Andrea Törő, Date: 7 June 
•  The link between sexual offences against children and paedophilia
      Rapporteur: György Virág & Judit Szabó, Date: 20 September 
•  Challenges and trends in addressing child sexual abuse content online
      Rapporteur: Boglárka Meggyesfalvi, Date: 16 October 
•  Criminal and criminological characteristics of robberies
      Rapporteur: László Tibor Nagy, Date: 25 October 

V) INSTITUTIONAL PUBLICATIONS

During the reporting period, 1 publications were published by the Institute.

1. Kriminológiai Tanulmányok 60. kötet [Studies on Criminology, Vol. 60.] [Hungarian edition]
(Ed.: György Virág) National Institute of Criminology, Budapest, 2023

This year, our journal, Studies on Criminology, has been classified as a category B journal by the Committee of State and Legal Studies of Department XI of Economics and Law of the Academy of Sciences.

VI)  CONTACTS, POPULARISATION OF SCIENCE

 
Conferences in OKRI, 2023

1. 8 February, online (Budapest)
Title of conference: Victims of Crime Day 2023: “Human Rights Protection in Europe”
Partners: Hungarian Society of Criminology Victimology Section, Ludovika University of Public Service

2. 11 October, Palace of Justice, Budapest
Title of conference: Expert evidence in the light of the application of the law

3. 8 November (online)
Title of conference: Celebration of Hungarian Science 2023: Answers to Global Challenges – Human rights in the 21st century. Academic conference on the 75th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Partners: Károli Gáspár Reformed University, Hungarian Law and Political Science Association

4. 11 November (online)
Title of conference: Celebration of Hungarian Science 2023: Answers to Global Challenges – Current issues on confiscation (recovery) of criminal assets professional-scientific conference
Partner: Research Centre for Social Sciences Institute of Law

VII)  NEWSLETTER OF THE INSTITUTE

Our Intranet Newsletter provides ongoing information to colleagues on a weekly basis on current institutional programmes and library developments and personnel news; in addition, attention may be brought to several online periodicals as a result of the individual activities of our researchers and our library manager.

VIII)  WEBSITE

Our website provides information on a wide range of topics, including the following:

• reports published on the Institute’s wide-ranging operations;
• information provided on an ongoing basis on current domestic and international events;
• each of our researchers has an individual personalised interface where they can update their particulars, post their studies, and disclose other information;
• our publications, promoted in a special section;
• insights provided into the life of the Institute; news is supplemented with photos of memorable events;
• we assist in producing more specific searches with key data, as well as enhancing hits through international search engines;
• the English version of the homepage that assists foreigners in browsing;
• both in Hungary and internationally, in partnership with partner sites, there are more and more external links to the website of our Institute, therefore we also publish website access to many organisations and institutions in the “Useful links” section.

The renewed website is user-friendly, informative and its appearance is worthy of a European level research institute.