Criminal Enforcement

The penitentiary organisation is a state-run armed law enforcement agency under the Ministry of the Interior. Its central governing body is the National Command of the Hungarian Prison Service, which includes 31 penitentiary institutions, 10 commercial companies and 3 other institutions - the Education, Training and Rehabilitation Centre of the Prison Service, the Penitentiary Department of Prison Service of the Faculty of Law Enforcement of the Ludovika (National) University of Public Service and the Central Hospital of the Prison Service. The first two are for staff training, while the latter medical centre provides care for prisoners. Our staff exceeds 9,000.

The penitentiary organisation also carries out custodial sentences, measures, coercive measures in criminal proceedings, detentions imposed in the course of the commutation of fines for offences, and, in accordance with the provisions laid down by law, detention of aliens.