According to the Travel and International Security Index based on assessments of 193 countries, Hungary ranked as the tenth safest country recommended for tourists.

Citing an Ipsos survey from August 2025, he added that Hungarians and Singaporeans were the least concerned about crime and violence in their countries. By contrast, he noted, 64 percent of people in Sweden, 38 percent in France, and 28 percent in Germany worried about their personal safety.

According to a poll conducted in Dec 2024, 89 percent of local authorities rated the police's work as "good" or "excellent", Pinter said. Fully 90,6 percent of schools and 78 percent of parents were also satisfied with the police, he added.

High social acceptance was thanks to the work of the disaster management, correctional, anti-terrorism and immigration authorities as well as the police, he said.

Meanwhile, the minister said one of the greatest challenges was the fight against drugs, adding that the government's zero tolerance policy had resulted in regulations that expanded the "police's opportunities".

As a result, Hungary headed an operation that seized "the largest European drug bust, 2.2 tonnes of cocaine," he said. Other operations resulted in the seizure of a total of 1,679kg of drugs, 8,765 criminal proceedings, the arrest of 632 dealers and the inspection of 200 bars and restaurants, he said.

After Romania joined the Schengen Area, the police forces patrolling 447km of border were redeployed to the east and north-east of the country, he said.

Regarding child-protection measures, the police have compiled a paedophile registry, Pinter noted. "We have arrested more than 700 paedophiles and taken action in more than 800 cases to protect children."

The police have also taken a stricter stand against speeding drivers, and sanctioned more than 700,000 cases; the number of lethal accidents was 40 fewer than the same period last year, and the number of victims decreased by 54. Still, Hungary remains in the mid-field of European countries in this respect, he added.

Regarding suspicions of child abuse at the Szolo Street young offender facility, Pinter said the institution featured in two separate cases. One was a criminal case "where no underage victims were as yet identified".

The second is a disciplinary procedure launched to investigate whether police action in respect of 39 previously reported cases of abuse had been adequate, he said. "At the moment, we have no information clearly pointing to irregular police action." Parallel to the disciplinary action, the Public Prosecutor's Office is also investigating the case, he added.

Meanwhile, Pinter said that so far, 54,498 Ukrainian citizens applied for residence permits in Hungary.

On the issue of terrorism, Pinter said the threat of terrorist attacks in the country was medium level; the level of security was demonstrated by the fact that Israeli sports teams held matches in Hungary, he said.

Lives were saved in three cases, thanks to Hungary's cooperation with international anti-terrorism organisations, he said.

Pinter also praised disaster management, noting that the flames that broke out at the MOL Danube Refinery on Oct 20 were extinguished by firefighters according to international practice, and the explosion hazard had been professionally managed. The case is under fire investigation, he said.

He said Hungary was prepared to prevent the influx of criminals and weapons into the country after the conclusion of the Russia-Ukraine war, using experience of the period after the 1991-1995 war in the Balkans.
 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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