Police Corruption

Evaluation of Police Corruption

Police corruption is also part of the larger problem of government corruption, and those who benefit from it are not likely to report its existence. Although this makes it impossible to accurately assess the prevalence of corruption, the perceptions of business people and members of the public in general regarding corruption in their respective countries serve as an indirect but useful mechanism.

Government corruption as a whole is generally perceived to be more common and extensive in underdeveloped and poor countries. Looking at the problem of corruption globally, the Global Coalition Against Corruption, a joint initiative between Transparency International and Goettingen University (Germany), developed a corruption perception index for 124 countries, based on surveys of businesspeople, risk analysts, and members of the public in those countries.

With a value of 10 representing “highly clean” and zero representing “highly corrupt,” the United States is in 16th place alongside Israel with a 7.6 corruption rating. Finland is perceived to be the “most clean,” with a corruption perception rating of 9.9, followed by Denmark, New Zealand, Iceland, and Singapore.

Publicity regarding police corruption can seriously harm the image of a police agency, impede its ability to gain cooperation from the public, and negatively affect the careers of commanders responsible for corrupt officers. As a result, some police officials may see a greater benefit in suppressing information regarding such corrupt officers than in rigorously combating it.