Hungary has every reason to be proud that it has police officers who protect life and property, who are able to guarantee the security of everyday life, and who have been able to cut the number of crimes to half in ten years, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at Kapisztrán tér, in Buda Castle, at the officer inauguration ceremony of the Faculty of Law Enforcement of the National University of Public Service.
He stressed that Hungarian police officers have proved their aptitude and worth many times over: come flood, red sludge or a flow of migrants, they have always stood their ground.
“We have police officers who – during the hardest times, if needs be – also go out to the borders to protect Hungarian families,” the Prime Minister said.
According to Mr Orbán, if police officers perform their service in a committed manner, Hungary will continue to remain one of Europe’s safest countries.
The Prime Minister highlighted that he saw before himself officers at the beginning of their careers who are committed to their country and the Hungarian people. He then thanked the parents of the graduating students who planted and reinforced in their children love for the country and order, and encouraged them to start a career in law enforcement.
In his words, from today the officers now inaugurated belong to the Hungarians who joined the flags of Hunyadi, Rákóczi, Kossuth and the 1956 revolution, who wanted Hungary to have freedom, security, order and a liveable future, who were prepared to risk their lives for those ideals, and – if fate so required – were even ready to lay down their lives. “Today you have joined the best of our country’s long history,” he stressed.
At the same, he also observed that there were times when police officers were a means of oppression, and people were not quite sure whether they were facing the defenders of order or the enemies of freedom. “It took many long years for everyone to understand and to believe that our armed officers indeed serve and protect us, that it is indeed us that they serve and protect,” the Prime Minister said, and asked police officers to take good care of this regained public trust.
Mr Orbán said today Hungary is a serious and respectable state, and it is the duty of police officers to enforce the laws in relation to those who were born here and those who enter the country. “Without your job the law is only a dead letter,” he said.
He finally told the oath-takers that the command ‘only honour’ stands above all. Honour means courage, loyalty and respect. He therefore wished them that their hearts may never falter during their work, that they remain faithful to their oath, and respect their comrades, superiors and above all, their country.
The 168 graduating students of the Faculty of Law Enforcement of the National University of Public Service took their officer’s oath before a copy of the Holy Crown and the historical flags in the presence of Interior Minister Sándor Pintér and Defence Minister Tibor Benkő, among others.
According to the information leaflet distributed at the ceremony, 112 officers graduating from the faculty this year will join the police. They attended courses of crime investigation, business crime investigation, administration law enforcement, transport policing, public order and border policing. The rest of the graduates will join the National Tax and Customs Administration, the prison service and the National Directorate General for Disaster Management.
The officers who now took their oaths will begin service on 1 July.