April 22, 2024. 2 min
The police’s stock of tear gas can reach a record number of 111,000 pieces, if a supplier can be found for the order. In recent years, such a large quantity has never been available to the authorities; in fact, at the beginning of last year, there were only 43,000 tear sprays in the police institutions. This was finally raised to 91,000 with a public procurement worth HUF 286.8 million. In addition to the police, the National Command of Penal Enforcement would also use coercive tools, but they did not tell us how many tear gas, rubber batons or handcuffs they currently have.
For the purchase of 20,000 tear sprays in 750 ml team service packaging issued a tender the Defense Procurement Agency Zrt. (VBÜ) and the National Police Headquarters (ORFK). If the public procurement procedure is successful, there could be more than 110,000 tear sprays in police institutions.
We know this since a few weeks ago public data request submitted to the ORFK in order to find out the total number of coercive devices available to the police on January 1, 2024. According to the ORFK’s response in the police’s asset management on January 1:
- 59,788 rubber sticks,
- 10,386 pieces of hinged handcuffs
- and 91,843 tear sprays were available.
One last summer from a data request and it turned out that:
- 88,647 on January 1, 2020,
- 81,405 on January 1, 2021,
- 70,460 on January 1, 2022,
- And on January 1, 2023, only 43,438 units of tear gas were available to the police.
In other words, last year the police managed to increase the stock of tear gas spray from 43,000 to 91,000. This is believed to have been held two years ago, for 6 months procedure was due, the result of which in November 2022 appeared in the public procurement notice. At that time, VBÜ bought 50,000 40 ml and 10,000 750 ml gas sprays from HM Elektronikai, Logisztikai ez Vagyonkeszela Zrt. for a net total of HUF 286.8 million.
With the current order, the tear gas stock of the police can swell to up to 111,000 pieces, which is more than two and a half times the amount at the beginning of last year.
Since the number of tear-inducing sprays has never exceeded 100,000 in recent years, the planned amount would be considered a record.
BvOP does not release data
At the end of February, the Defense Procurement Agency also sought coercive tools for the National Penitentiary Command (BvOP). THE with a public procurement procedure the state-owned company plans to purchase 2,000 tear-inducing sprays of 40 ml, 60 tear-inducing sprays of 750 ml, 300 rubber sticks and 200 hinged handcuffs. At the time of publication of our article, the tender had no results.
After the publication of the call – similarly to the ORFH – we asked the BvOP, how many of the listed tools were available to them in the last five years. The BvOP in his answer stated that:
“CVII of 1995 on the penal organization. Act 12/A. According to § (1) b) “A request to learn about facility and personal protection data related to the operation of a facility or device that is important for the security of detention shall be rejected during the period of use of the facility or device, but for a maximum of thirty years from the date of creation of the data, if the knowledge of the data serves the interests related to the prosecution or prevention of crimes – thus, in particular, the bv. the performance of the institution’s tasks related to the security of detention and the order of execution – would be endangered.”
Therefore, they were unable to send the requested data.
Esther Katus
Opening image: Police with tear gas at a student demonstration in Budapest in May 2023. Photo: Dénes Balogh/Facebook
