General Characterisation of the Criminal State of the City of Debrecen Between the Years 2000 and 2008

Debrecen is the second largest city in Hungary (after the capital of Budapest) and, correspondingly, Debrecen Police station (Debreceni Rendőrkapitányság) is the second biggest in Hungary. The city is situated in the centre of Hajdú-Bihar County (Hajdú-Bihar megye) which is currently home to more than 40% of the county’s population so the city has the same structure of crime as any other big city of Europe. Being a criminal geographer, the author presents a study of the criminal situation in Debrecen in 2000-2008 according to the city police station. Even this period shows the difference but it would be much more outstanding if the period from 1989 to 2008 was examined. The research results apply mainly to the structure of crime in Debrecen and the crime rate is per 100　000 people. Then the city crime rates are compared to the rates all over Hungary. Having analysed the criminal situation from geographic point of view, the author comes to the conclusion that the structure of crime in Debrecen does not significantly differ from the regional or national results. On the other hand, it becomes obvious that certain types of crime are more characteristic and frequent in Debrecen and Hajdú-Bihar region than in other parts of Hungary. The author hopes that the results of his study will be used by both criminal geographers and the law enforcement experts.