About a year ago Balázs got robbed on the train on his way to Szihalom. 3 young guys started harassing him and pushing him around, demanding his money and mobile, as well as his jewelry. It got to the point where Balázs decided to go in and report them to the police.
At first, it seemed to us that reporting it would mostly just be a waste of our time, because Balázs had gotten his phone back from them, and had only lost a small amount of money and a necklace - but we reported it anyway. And it did take a LONG time. We spent about 12 straight hours at the police station filing the report - only finishing at 6 in the morning - just in time to get ready for church!
But it turned out that filing the report was worth it. We found out that Balázs wasn't the only person they had done this too - but in fact these 3 guys spent all day every day riding the train between Miskolc and Füzesabony, bullying people and stealing mobile phones and money. So, when Balázs reported them, although it wasn't a huge crime, it was the final straw.
Over the past year we have had to go back to the police station a few times and went to a court hearing where Balázs had to testify. And last week we got a paper from the court informing us of the sentencing that the 3 guys got. They were charged with a 'gang robbery' (tömeges rablás) against a minor, and the older 2 got sentenced to 3 years in jail, the younger got 2 years.
I have to say that I was impressed with the Hungarian justice system throughout this whole thing. I know that other people have had bad experiences with them - but in this case I think they did things right.
I think this story is a good example of how it is worth it report crime to the police, even if it is just for seemingly small crimes. I only wonder how many other people these guys robbed who didn't think it was worth it to report it to the police.
Anyone else out there had experiences with the Hungarian police - either good or bad?
At first, it seemed to us that reporting it would mostly just be a waste of our time, because Balázs had gotten his phone back from them, and had only lost a small amount of money and a necklace - but we reported it anyway. And it did take a LONG time. We spent about 12 straight hours at the police station filing the report - only finishing at 6 in the morning - just in time to get ready for church!
But it turned out that filing the report was worth it. We found out that Balázs wasn't the only person they had done this too - but in fact these 3 guys spent all day every day riding the train between Miskolc and Füzesabony, bullying people and stealing mobile phones and money. So, when Balázs reported them, although it wasn't a huge crime, it was the final straw.
Over the past year we have had to go back to the police station a few times and went to a court hearing where Balázs had to testify. And last week we got a paper from the court informing us of the sentencing that the 3 guys got. They were charged with a 'gang robbery' (tömeges rablás) against a minor, and the older 2 got sentenced to 3 years in jail, the younger got 2 years.
I have to say that I was impressed with the Hungarian justice system throughout this whole thing. I know that other people have had bad experiences with them - but in this case I think they did things right.
I think this story is a good example of how it is worth it report crime to the police, even if it is just for seemingly small crimes. I only wonder how many other people these guys robbed who didn't think it was worth it to report it to the police.
Anyone else out there had experiences with the Hungarian police - either good or bad?
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