Hungary's FBI - ILEA

Last Wednesday started JSBP back on the track of actually going on field trips for our field exertions. We went to the International Law Enforcement Academy of Hungary which is equivalent to the United State’s FBI. One of our “tour guides” was actually American and part of the FBI. This is because agents from the FBI are sent to the Academy to train people from various countries around Hungary and people within Hungary as well. 

International Law Enforcement Agency aka ILEA

            We started off our trip like most of the others with a guided tour of the academy. We saw the dining facilities and then a sort of “rec lounge” where the students can hang out and play pool or just talk. Mr. Stocking said he likes this area because if a student is too afraid to open up and talk in class, this area gives them a less formal setting where they can open up and get to know the other students. After this building we saw the gym where the students worked out along with their weights and training room. We also got to see Tito miss an extremely easy shot, which was pretty entertaining. After, we saw a crime scene training facility where the students practice different arrests and entering techniques. This was really cool because it was as hands on as you could get without putting yourself in an actual crime situation. Thomas also mentioned that this was a favorite of students and teachers alike because it was hands on opposed to sitting in a classroom. Speaking of classrooms our last stop on the tour was a classroom where the question and answer session began. 

Similar to one of the classrooms we sat in during our question and answer

            Thomas Stocking, Deputy Director of the academy started us off with the history of this program and a little information about the actual FBI. He compared our governmental system where each department has a law enforcement agency aspect to it to Europe’s where most countries law enforcement is under one department. He talked about how he works for the bureau of diplomatic security and has worked with security positions in the US embassy but there are also options protecting foreign dignitaries and secretary of states. This to me sounds like a pretty awesome job especially because the bureau provides language training and lessons if you are going to be in a foreign country for an extended period of time. Mr. Stocking is currently on a 3-year assignment in Budapest but has been with the FBI for 17 years. Quite a commitment if you ask me.     

Who Hanni has to report to as part of her job

            Next up was Tibor Bennet and Hanni Goshi (excuse my spelling if it is incorrect). Tibor has been with the US embassy for 17 years but started off in the Peace Corps and then worked for the USA international development after which he became a budget analysis and finally has been working with ILEA for the past 7 years. He said he really likes to watch the development of a country as he works with setting up schools and starting education and then tries to focus on creating democracy and stopping corruption. This is amazing to me because to watch a country go from nothing to something and say that you were a part of it I’m sure is an amazing feeling and I would love to one day say I was part of something that important. After Tibor, Hanni talked to us for a little bit about her background as an FBI agent and what she does currently. Her main job at the academy is dealing with students and the Hungarian Ministry of Interior, a lot of responsibility if you ask me. She proudly stated that she was a National Academy Graduate and now works for ILEA under the positions I have mentioned before. Hanni was inspiring to me because of how proud she was to have graduated from the FBI academy and be a part of this program, training people and teaching them about investigation techniques and other things related to the law. These two people, Tibor and Hanni clearly loved their jobs and loved what they were doing to help out and I hope one day I can say I have a job that I love and a job where I make a difference.

Countries working together for a better world!

            Our last part of our journey was a question and answer session with John Terpines who was a very intellectually bright and funny man. We asked questions from family life in the FBI to how you get to work for the FBI to what happens if you mess up while in college and get arrested, what are your options. I think one of the more interesting things was how a person gets to be a part of the FBI. John talked about how he had so many different eduacational disciplines in his class and that there is no one way to working and getting into the FBI. He did mention that this job is most always a second career and people persue it at around the age of 29. What I also thought was interesting was how John talked about the importance of building relationships between countries. People complain that we are spending too much money on these educations for other countries police forces but John said that they were the most important relationships because they develop trust as well as simple connections. I agree and think that if we can stop corruption and stop police from saying things like “a wife unbeaten is like a house unkept” then we are doing well for the world and in turn doing good things for ourselves. Bringing together countries is never a bad thing and I think ILEA does a great job making relationships that may not have the chance to be made if ILEA did not exist. I had a great time at ILEA and the people there were fantastic and I would like to thank them for their time and amazing hospitality.