The professional and scientific journal of the Ministry of the Interior fulfills its dual mission by exploiting the opportunities provided by the press:

• prompt, accurate and credible information on the practice of home affairs administration; and
• the creation of an intellectual forum offering a media platform for law enforcement in addition to political science and law.

Scientificity knows no borders, and research results require international competition. Our founding predecessors knew this well. Let us recall the work of the late Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Lajos Nyerges, who has been taking care of the former Külföldi Figyelő (Foreign Observer) published as an appendix to Belügyi Szemle since the seventies, with rich content, the transmission of rule of law samples and the presentation of cutting-edge forensics. The international heading that is now emerging not only sees the preservation of old values as its vocation, but also pays attention to the challenges of our time. It opens resources for researchers of law enforcement theory, adopted by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2003, by presenting the most valuable publications of foreign press, especially the journals that have gained a reputation in the cultivation of social sciences. It also contributes to the teaching and theoretical work of the Law Enforcement Faculty of the University of Public Services, it supports the main goal of the Doctoral School of Law Enforcement, the preparation of future practitioners of Law Enforcement, and last but not least, it provides a worldwide outlook for all readers of the paper. The International Law Enforcement Observer genre requires to faithfully reflect the original content of the presented studies. There is no doubt that, on a correct interpretation, a review may contain personal impressions and critical remarks, but in the present case the emphasis is on the undistorted publication of ideas expressed in the foreign language literature. If as we hope, the implementation of the original program of the Observer succeeds, then its main mission will be to regularly inform readers about current topics in the international literature. It is reasonable to encourage the future authors of the new heading to prepare their writings with this thought-provoking, textual approach. If everyone who would undertake a presentation would endow their writing with individual tastes, exactly the point, the information would be lost. It is an advantage for those interested in scientific life to have the necessary critical skills, which the Observer can only strengthen, although it is not a discussion forum. At the same time, the colorful theme of the writings appearing here is broadening the horizons of proficiency by increasing the assessment skills of early-stage researchers, making them suitable to appear successfully in international forums at a later stage. We hope that the new heading will also attract the attention of law enforcement leader and executive professionals, who can gain experience on how it is possible to use the results of science in practice and how to find a partner in researchers to support practice. The introductory issue of the International Law Enforcement Observer publishes the work of the students of the Doctoral School of Law Enforcement. Reviews can be grouped around three topics:

• a modern approach to law enforcement and security;
• efficiency and legitimacy as the basis for law enforcement legitimacy;
• the tasks of the police during a pandemic.