Aim: The author introduces the Police Cooperation Program of the Dutch and Hungarian police between 1993 and 1995. By getting to know the program and the evaluation report, we can gain insight into the role played by international relations in the transformation of the police after the regime change, how the Dutch police saw the operation of the Hungarian police at the time and what leadership opinions surrounded the cooperation.
Methodology: The article is based on the primary source analysis of the documentation found during the archival research of the evaluation study of the program, which is supplemented by relevant domestic literary sources.
Findings: Based on the examination of the evaluation report, which was written in an open and critical spirit, it can be concluded that – although the leaders of the Hungarian police were able to get to know the operation of the decentralized Dutch police, which fits into the civil administration and is close to the people – they refrained from the Hungarian transformation based on similar principles. Based on the knowledge of the report, the need for comprehensive research of the TC Team Consult investigation is formulated.
Value: As a contemporary document, the evaluation report clearly illustrates the problems of the police during the democratic transition and can provide ammunition for future research on police reforms.