Category: Corruption

Essay on Corruption Problem in Malaysia

Corruption is a crime where a person gets benefits like freedom, contracts or privileges from another person after giving money, gift or even entertainment as bribes. Generally, corruption is defined as the abuse of entrusted power, status or wealth for private and dishonest gain. According to the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), corruption can be classified into four forms, namely, requesting or receiving favors, offering favors, making false claims and misusing job or position. Based on Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International, Malaysia scored 47 points out of 100 (with a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 indicates very clean, corruption-free country and 0 reflects a deep-rooted, systemic corruption problem). This means that Malaysia is merely on average score, even lower in the test of integrity. In other words, Malaysia is still wreathed in the smoke of corruption. In order to shield our country from the corrupt climate, the factors that attributed to the causes of corruption need to be figured out before relevant measures are being suggested.

First and foremost, the most significant factor leads to corruption is the dark personality traits of a human. Greediness is one of them. Greed is a selfish desire and excessively lust for more than deserved, especially in the form of wealth, power, position or any other materialistic possessions. Everyone has a tendency to be greedy. Greediness leads to unfettered desire which challenges one’s moral boundary. Regardless of personal integrity, a greed person will do whatever, including corruption, in order to satisfy his own desires (Dimant & Tosato, 2017). People feel contented when they taste the personal advantage brought by corruption. Neglecting their moral basis, they will involve more in corruption as they are addicted or used to enjoy the short-term benefit provided by this delinquency. Another dark personality trait is selfishness. I bet most of us used to hear or used to say some arguments such as, ‘Everyone does it’, ‘I just want to minimize my losses’, and ‘I don’t harm others!’. The innate human behaviors of rationalizing own wrongdoing corrode the society when everyone thinks that corruption is not a matter. Consequently, society is covered by the atmosphere of dishonest and immoral. In short, not only the society leaders but everyone ought to promote corruption.

Another cause of corruption is the decline of social ethical sensitivity. Nowadays, Malaysian still overlooks the depth of the crisis of corruption. Most are still living in cultural environments that condone corruption. It is sad but is true that most citizens are merely anti-corruption verbally but in fact, they support and even admire these crooked practices unintentionally. For instance, some companies hired accountants, auditors, financial advisors, and any other professional bodies so that the companies can utilize the specialists to engage in illegal practices such as evading government taxes (Salas, 2018). Exploiting legal loophole and playing dirty trick seem to be immoral, but those succeed to do so usually get rewards, instead of publishment. Additionally, mutual screening among society also making corruption become less detectable. There is the likelihood that someone who realizes of corruption happening but keeps silent. Perhaps because of selfishness, or perhaps because of cowardice. Whatever the reason is, once they choose to cover up the corrupt individuals, they are indirectly agreeing with corrupt behavior. Hence, corruption occurs more frequently as nobody has adequate courage and willingness to denounce corrupt practices.

To sum up, low levels of civic participation make corruption more inconspicuous. Political monopolization wreaks havoc in our country by catalyzing occurrence of corruption. Over-dominion of an individual leads to power abuse of the authorizer. The thing goes worse if the authorizer has no service-oriented spirit but misuse politics for their personal interests. The authorizer may involve in corruption in order to content his personal greed. Besides, high levels of bureaucracy are also the main factor of corruption. There are a few kinds of research which claim that administrative and political structure inefficiency enlarge the possibility of corruption occurs. Tanzi & Davoodi, 1998, suggested that “the existence of regulations and authorizations gives a kind of monopoly power to the officials who must authorize or inspect the activity”. In other words, the more power of a social leader, the lesser the transparency and consequentially, the likelihood of his involvement in corruption augmented.

There is no silver bullet to combat corruption. One of the effective strategies is by reducing impunity for corruption involves. Stricter law enforcement is necessary to ensure those corrupt are penalized and interrupt the cycle of impunity. An independent, transparent and professional legal framework is essential where enforcement and prosecutor sectors can react to technical criteria without influenced by political power plays. In an effort to address this issue, Malaysia has come up with the official establishment of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on 1st January 2009. MACC has a role in monitoring the nation’s anti-corruption efforts. The independence, transparency, and professionalism of MACC guarantee its effectivity and efficiency in solving corruption problem. Successful enforcement approaches reduce the possibility of police and prosecutors to have a vested interest to a minimum, whilst bribery between politicians become easier detected. Moreover, numerous studies have pointed out that the key to fighting against corruption is by promoting transparency. In the business context, transparency means the quality of being honest and open. It ensures that public sectors, civil servants, and organizations to act visibly and scrupulously, to bear public scrutiny (Rouse, n.d.). Regain of freedom of speech and accessibility of information among the public are the products of increasing transparency. Whistleblower protection mechanisms assure press and activists can speak, criticize freely the wrongdoing of government without fear of retaliation. Without political hindrance, news of intended corrupt practices of public figures spread rampantly via social media and other communications means, and hence, raise the level of public’s awareness. Improper action of civil leader has no way to be secret. Therefore, government bodies unable to abuse their political power to gain any private benefits. Simultaneously, levels of civil participation get a positive outcome. Hence, cultivate transparency is a must to ensure Malaysia steps forward to a corruption-free country.

Another significant strategy to nip the problem of corruption in the bud is by empowering citizens. In ‘How to Solve Corruption: 5 Keys Ingredients’, (2016) citizens are the most crucial component of a democratic country, such as Malaysia, where citizens play a significant role in demanding accountability and legitimacy of society leaders, and thus preventing corruption. Arouse Malaysians’ patriotism spirit leads to the readiness of citizens to serve and protect the country from the smoke of corruption. For instance, an involvement of Malaysians in monitoring local elections, making them keep an eye on all suspicious actions and courageous enough to speak out once discover the unreasonable cases like leakages of funds or emerging of buying votes. Therefore, community monitoring initiatives indeed contribute to the detection of corruption and improve the quantity and quality of public services indirectly. Besides, integrity should be promoted to the public. Schools and universities are responsible for educating youth about ethics and values, while private corporations are encouraged to practice business integrity and promote these ideas to become more mainstream. In a certain degree, these can perk up the citizens’ demand for anti-corruption and consequently, protecting Malaysia’s cleanliness and harmony.

Undoubtedly, corruption brings numerous negative impacts in a country politically, economically and socially. Corruption seems to be rampant across Malaysia, however, it is avoidable. No one is isolated and needless in the process of guarding corruption. In my opinion, improvements in Malaysia will only be made if there is a strong political will to transform, a comprehensive measure is adopted and sufficient supports from society. I personally think that Malaysia should look out cautiously and scrupulously the focal point to make changes that will bring about real improvement. Conclusively, corruption can only be kept curb if government representatives and society members work together. Corruption would not be rooted out in one big sweep. Instead, fighting corruption is a step-by-step, project-by-project process. Indeed, Malaysia has still a long way to go in fighting against corruption. But I believe that with the close and stable cooperation between government and civil society, the day Malaysia is admired for its integrity and become the model nation of the world is just around the corner.

Corruption in Which We Live: Essay

The most recent scandal inside a commercial business was taking place and one of the most prestigious universities of the west coast The University of Southern California also known as USC. Most recently USC had come out at the center of a college admission scandal involving federal charges of bribery, cheating, and parents who had been willing to pay thousands of dollars in order to make sure that their potential underperforming children get into a number of the nation’s prime universities. Federal prosecutors have accused 50 rich parents, coaches and test proctors, among others, conspiring with William Rick Singer, a school admission adviser, of committing bribery and fraud to hurt students into a number of the nations most projected prestigious schools. I feel like this is not fair to the millions of students across the United States and internationally that put everything they have into getting into such prestigious universities, all for it to be a waste because somebody is just paying their way in and does not have to work as hard as these other potential students.

It was said that the parents had usually paid between 250,000 and 400,000 though it’s to be believed that’s some allegedly spent up to $6.5 million to help their children get extra assistance with cheating on standardized test, the making of fake athletic profiles and the bribing of officials, in order to boost their possibilities of admittance.

“The indisputable fact that there is this entirely separate system for athletes’ admission and recruitment that frankly lends itself to corruption and abuse is admittedly disturbing”, said Ariela Gross, a law professor at the University. Issue affected many students let try to get in such prestigious colleges thinking they didn’t have that right accolades, and weren’t the right fit to be a part of school at USC. When in reality there’ve been students that had simply paid a whole ton of additional cash and didn’t work as hard as others that genuinely attempted their hardest to attend a college like USC.

Their investigation is still going on and they are still uncovering the additional students as well as finding out that there are other top-tier universities that may have been involved with Singer which the distinguished Stanford University could’ve also been involved with. “Stanford sailing program received $770,000 from Singer’s foundation and the head coach pleaded guilty on March 12 two charges ‘that he excepted monetary contributions’ for a train to recommend to prospective students, according to the university”.

Another larger issue found had to do the subject of corruption within the US government for further more political corruption. Political corruption has existed and has been around for many years throughout the ages. Political corruption has been believed to be most prominent in positions of power, because of the role that money plays when gaining another individual’s power. Nonetheless, over the centuries’ corruption has changed so much that it doesn’t even have any similarity to the specific definition of corruption. In today’s society many Americans believe that there is an unbelievable amount of corruption within politics.

Per Jefferey Milyo, the author of nationwide ‘Influence and Political Corruption’, across the country representative opinion survey done in 2008 states that, “a very little over 50% of respondent agreed that corruption within the federal government is widespread and a particularly serious concern, whereas fewer than 5% thought-about-corruption within the center to be rare or not a concern. This leaves several Americans to believe that politics isn’t ‘inherently corrupt activity” (Milyo, 2014). This possibility, of course just checked out from many alternative views with quite a few major firms contributing too many political campaigns; and it is assumed that many of these politicians are being bought and have been bought in order to further profit corporations agenda.

Next, I found one the largest social media platforms Facebook played a role within the 2016 presidential campaign and heavens found aiding Donald Trump with his election driving time of the election a political firm that had been employed by the Trump foundation require access to personal information of Facebook users. That firm was Cambridge Analytica, which is been a firm employed by Pres. Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, and they had gained access to personal data on over 15 million Facebook users. The firm had offered tools that would establish and target the personalities of American voters and their main goal was to influence their behavior. Cambridge have been mostly funded by Henry M. Robert Mercer, the rich republican donor, and author K. Bannon, a former consultant to the president. I feel that this made it easier for the Trump campaign to work with the firm since the president bar you had ties with them.

I found that within the 16th century, the government had failed to intervene when it came to corruption or anything that has to do with social and/or economic issues. The government has been expected to stay and control the safety and security, to assist in disasters and to run the finance of the Crown and country. It had been sent that “Elizabeth government did an inexpensive job in those areas”. I feel that we have and have a tendency to perceive that the 16th century British businesses government have been based on completely different political structures compared to the one we currently have in place. This meant that the character traditions of politics were inevitable to encounter favoritism: “You had to induce on someone’s sensible facet if you needed to stand out and advance”.

I feel like when you compare the Elizabethan era to the era we are in now, you can’t make too much of a connection, due to that time that these corrupt actions took place in. I feel like during the Elizabethan era the government had been more lenient and more forgiving tended to brush situations like this off, whereas in today’s society you have a higher chance to get caught, but I feel that corruption is more common within the 21st-century. However as previously stated, back within that time corruption had probably been accepted as a customary and normal practice and was a part of that era’s social norm. Which could be seen as a detrimental part of the society. My solution for both eras would be to end secret money so citizens know who’s buying political power, change how elections are funded to give every voter a voice, and eliminate political bribery by making it illegal for lobbyists to lobby a politician and donate to their campaigns.

It could be seen that the prerequisite powers of the Queen provided the system with its fairness and potency. However most significantly it had been the stability of the future and years to come that voters enjoyed and had taken a liking to beneath the Elizabethan government. In distinction to alternative Western European countries at the time, Britain had a wonderful social, political and spiritual stability that could be a testimony of the success of a good, simple and economical system of state. I feel that even though England had their issues with corruption within their governments and businesses there had been able to capitalize off of it and make it something bad into something good and turn around their future for the better.

Is Corruption Unavoidable: Argumentative Essay

Corruption is a major threat to the social, political and economic development and sustainability in every society. It is the abuse of a trusted position politically or in other organizations for personal benefits without a legal justification. The rising rate of corruption worldwide has led to a higher rate of human suffering and adverse effects to the economy. It takes many different shapes hence, a remedy of it in a given region will not necessarily be successful in another and this has led to a serious exploration. The following discussion outlines some of the factors that causes corruption.

According to Stefan (2017), the political and economic environment is a major cause of corruption. This is because most of the economic activity is limited and regulated by the government and due to the availability of corrupt opportunities of acquiring personal financial stability, they readily accept bribes from individuals who wants to acquire governmental benefits and the victims can always make amendments with money. Ackerman (1996) stated that bribery imposes an indirect effect on other commercial and service activities through taxation and the society as a whole.

Professional ethics defines the standard of conduct in relation to the various professions, it maintains the public trust in the profession to ensure a continuous service. Professional ethnicity has declined due to lack of transparency and lack of control by this supervisory institution, decline in personal ethnical sensitivity due to the negative experiences and restrictions by the government without sufficient legal basis has nurtured individuals to develop an attitude of self-gain hence corruption at all levels.

Ethnological factors include the habits, customs and traditions of a given society. Ethnography involves understanding their behavior which may be as a result of the situations in their environment. People have different attitude towards corruption, some are against it since it corrupts good morals and the bible is against it, some have socially accepted it as a quick way of attaining financial stability and attaining achievements and fame while some practices corruption because of the corrupt monopoly of power. Also, tribalism has contributed to corruption due to the lack of courage to condemn people from our own tribes but instead defend them because of our own interests.

Some of the ways to which corruption can be solved are as follows:

1. Revision of the anticorruption strategies on improving the efficiency and fairness of government to enhance the effectiveness of the private sector due to the unresponsive government.
2. Public participation in campaigns against corrupted projects in the society and encouraging people to make ethical decisions and actions to ensure personal and professional success.
3. The government should be a role model to the public by promoting ethical actions and good morals to the society in order to maintain the country attractive and respectful.

In conclusion, eliminating corruption is a long-term project to be handled from individual levels to the superior levels due to its widespread which has only caused human suffering and adverse effects on the society. I do believe a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

References

1. Delamont, S., 2004. Ethnography and Participant Observation. Qualitative research practice, 217, p.29.
2. Pardo, I., 2017. Introduction: Corruption, Morality and the Law. In ‘Between Morality and the Law’, pp. 9-26. Routledge.
3. Rivas, M. F., 2013. An Experiment on Corruption and Gender. Bulletin of Economic Research, Vol. 65, Issue 1, pp. 10-42. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2187722
4. Rose Ackerman, Susan, 1996. The Political Economy of Corruption: Causes and Consequences. World Bank, Washington, DC.
5. Sumah, S., 2017. Corruption, Causes and Consequences. Submitted: October 17th 2017. Reviewed: December 6th 2017. Published: February 21st 2018.
6. Shleifer, A. and Vishny, R.W., 1993. Corruption. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108(3), pp.599-617.

Representation of Corruption and Power in the Book ‘The Crucible’ and the Movie ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’

Texts have the ability to determine numerous human experiences, both individually and collective, in order to create unique understanding into human’s radical perspectives. Both ‘The Crucible’, written by Arthur Miller in 1953, and ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’, directed by Mark Herman in 2008, manage to represent the struggles and understanding of individual and collective human experiences. We gain clear realization of how these works manage to sculpt an image of human sensation, aspiration and drive which is apparent particularly on the human experience of corruption and power.

Corruption has the ability to determine one’s loss of innocence. Miller uses corruption in the book ‘The Crucible’ when Abigail Williams condemns and persecutes Tituba, a black slave from Barbados on practicing witchcraft. The first accusation Abigail made of Tituba is, “She made me do it! She made Betty do it!”; Abigail shows innocence through corruption. The use of exclamation emphasizes how Abigail, the antagonist, has authority to be in control of others actions with a loss of power to the opposing character. Furthermore, the use of descriptive language shown in the literacy device of authorial intrusion. “He is nearly drunk, and heavy-footed. He goes to a bench and nudges a bundle of rags lying on it”, is expressed in the beginning of Act 4, when Herrick removes Sarah good and Tituba from the jail cell so the court officials can hold a meeting there. Explaining through corrupted deception, the setting characterizes by the fear and mood of the character. The governments control over society is due to the corruption of the power the Germans hold collectively. Herman presents the experience of corruption in the film ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ as the protagonist Bruno is taught by his father that Jewish people are an inferior race and should not be socializing as they are not considered as people. The use of ellipsis “Those people… well, they’re not people at all, Bruno” establishes the use of silence that Bruno’s father displays before he shares a dishonest nature of human behavior and corruption. The medium shot with an eye level angle was appropriate during this scene as it shows the adventurous and curious of Bruno towards his father.

‘The Crucible’ and ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’, faithfully portray an individual that has the desire to do the right thing but collapses by noble pressure and the mob mentality. This challenge of paradox can depict on the inclination of an individual’s values and moral attitudes. Abigail’s desire to gain power in individuals fears the victim of their own safety. ‘The Crucible’ associates power when Elizabeth believes that the court hail Abigail as some sort of untouchable ‘saint’. “I thought she were a saint, to hear her”, the use of metaphor emphasizes the speech of ‘saint’ as she has the power over the court but the term isn’t actually literally applicable to theocracy. “Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd part like the sea for Israel”, the use of biblical allusion is reinforcing that the town is under Abigail’s control and they will conform to anything she does. Herman explores the human experience of power throughout the novel ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ by examining the relationships between characters and the adverse control of the government. Though the use of mis-en-scene, the costumes reveal the multiple platforms between characters. The Nazi soldiers including Bruno’s father involved in the corrupt government are always well dressed in their suits which therefore symbolize power and domination over the inferior population. The casual attire of striped pajamas worn by the Jews convey a miserable lifestyle of how the Nazi party have full force of control. “The soldiers. They took all our clothes away” implies the use of truncated sentences that create tension and power between both cultural crowds.

Power struggle of ‘The Crucible’ and ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ openly discovers an allegory within a society. We gain an image on human greed and control within a public society, and how there existed both inferior and superior race.

Ultimately both ‘The Crucible’ and ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ challenge how the audience see the world differently, within a way of individual and collective experience. These works depict the idea of corruption and power over the minority in their society.

Essay on Police Corruption in America

Police corruption is the abuse of police authority for personal benefit. Police corruption is something that happens internationally for various reasons such as, lack of integrity, and protection from people with authority. Police corruption exists because police culture embraces and protects officers even when they intentionally kill an innocent person (Williams, 2002). The longer a policeman stays in an agency, the more connections he or she will have. Depending on this person’s integrity, they will either be a good apple or a bad one. In America there is more corruption than there should be. A study shows that roughly three officers are charged every day, that is about 1,100 police officers arrested a year. Most common forms of corruption include bribery, extortion and selling drugs.

Corruption: Historical Review

Although police corruption is something unacceptable, it was a key factor in the development of police. Towards the end of the 19th century machine-era, police were involved in political corruption. They provided services to political allies of the machines. Policeman were interfering with opponents’ machines, which is very illegal. Police also helped in widespread election fraud.

Another event that happened in the past regarding police corruption was during the Prohibition (1919-1933). This event created new opportunities for corruption to take place. Prohibition marked a change in how corruption was organized (Potter, 2013). Organized crime worked directly with the corrupt police during these times. There were a lot of cities where policemen became more than a watchman. This led to the corruption in American policing to be almost total.

Because of these events mentioned above and others, it was noticeable that a change was needed in American police force. Investigations took place and let to the believe that new strategies for reducing police corruption were needed. An example of one of these new strategies was the improvement of standards for recruitment and training, more investigation on misbehaviors and the creation of programs in integrity for recruits and in-service personnel. All these recommendations put more pressure on supervisors to be more responsible of the people under their charge. With that being said, history of corruption helped develop a stricter management of police.

Impact on Society

Police corruption has had a great impact on society. Because of police corruption there have been many cases where people are wrongfully convicted and lost their freedom. Central Park Five is a very famous case that shows impact of police corruption in society. In this case, five kids ages 14 to 16 were accused of a crime they did not commit. The police officers in charge of this case were trying very hard to put the blame on someone. They chose to abuse their authority and not follow rules and procedures. To achieve their goals, police officers falsified evidence, confessions, used excessive force on the kids, and neglected their rights. These actions were unethical because they were very illegal. Not only they changed the lives of those five kids, but they also change the lives of their family members and family friends. Today, everyone knows that these individuals were responsible for a gross miscarriage of justice, but while the Central Park Five have lost years behind bars, many of the people responsible for putting them there have gone on to live the good life (Gray, 2019).

What the Future Holds

Everyone in America would hope for corruption to not exist, but that is very unrealistic. With the amount of new policeman entering our system, the big quantities of money involved and new technology, it is very possible that corruption will increase with time. There will be new ways for corrupt policemen to plant evidence, steal, falsify police reports and not get caught.

Corruption in America will grow, and the public might not know about it. Authorities will have more power and those under will have no choice but to follow. The bigger they are, the more money they will help them shut mouths. Those with money will get away with crime and the poor people who cannot defend themselves will not have a choice but to take responsibility of the crimes.

Conclusion

Having knowledge about this topic is essential to stop it from growing. Noticing corruption led to new strategies that eventually led to better policing. Corruption has broken many families by taking those loved ones away and incarcerating them preventing them from their freedom. It has also been the reason for money lost in many cases. We hope for it to stop and with technology on our side we could help lower the numbers. Hopefully justice is brought to all those families that have been affected by police misconduct, those who have done wrong are caught and brought into justice, and those who are planning to do wrongful things, never get the chance to do it.

References

1. Gray, M. J. (2019) The Central Park Five Case: Where the Racist Cops and Prosecutors Are Now. The Grio.
2. Bayley D., Perito R. (2011). Police Corruption. United States Institute of Peace. Pages 2-8.
3. Potter, G. (2013). The History of Policing in the United States, Part 4. Police Studies Online.
4. Williams, H. (2002). Core Factors of Police Corruption Across the World.
5. Jackman, T. (2016). ‘Study Finds Police Officers Arrested 1,100 Times Per Year, or 3 Per Day, Nationwide’. The Washington Post.
6. Storey, K. (2019). ‘‘When They See Us’ Shows the Disturbing Truth About How False Confessions Happen’. Esquire.
7. Newsbeat. (2019). Central Park Five: The True Story Behind When They See Us. BBC News.

Essay on Ethical Dilemma of Police Corruption

Police corruption can begin by innocent gestures like accepting free food which can prompt activities, for example, criminal behavior. As indicated by Pollock, a moral difficulty is the point at which a person must settle on what to do. Either the decision is unclear, or the correct decision will be troublesome in view of the cost included or the correct decision of activity conveys some negative outcomes (Pollock, p.3). Cops must settle on the correct decision in not accepting anything free. No law enforcement officer ought to ever assume that those working with them, underneath them or above them share a similar set of values. The prevention of taking free food will not only stop corruption but show how reliable police officers are.

As I would like to think, one of the moral difficulties in the field of criminal justice is police corruption. Corruption of a cop is a moral problem that isn’t discussed. It happens frequently and individuals don’t know about it. I will address this moral problem through a cop’s perspective. I will address the problem of police corruption dependent on the situation: “You are a rookie police officer on your first patrol. The older, experienced officer tells you that the restaurant on the corner likes to have you guys around, so it gives free meals. Your partner orders steak, potatoes, and all the trimmings. What are you going to do? What if it were just coffee at a convenience store? What if the owner refused to take your money at the cash register?” (Pollock, p.221). In order to fulfill the purpose of this paper, I will analyze the ethical dilemma of police corruption by looking at a useful solution for the dilemma, decision making, and consequences of taking anything free.

Ethical Dilemma: Police Corruption

Corruption is a critical justice issue. Therefore, the criminal equity framework ought to plan for advancing changes and enhancements in reducing police corruption. It is fundamental to discover an answer for corruption by the police. Schafer (2002) proposed mandatory ethics and aspirational ethics to determine the moral quandary of corruption among cops. Mandatory ethics can be characterized as building up moral codes that depend either on the standard of law or definitive understandings. Mandatory ethics are essentially practice measures dependent on associations ‘ various methodologies. Mandatory ethics exist in associations. It is foreseen that the numerous staff and laborers will hold fast to the mandatory morals guidelines while serving customers. This additionally ensures the validity of the association. Adopting mandatory morality in criminal justice would guarantee police respect citizens, opportunities and advance decency and equity in court procedures. From a persuasive point of view, aspirational ethics are built up. Aspirational ethics encourages best and alluring moral practices that inspire individuals to a specific social course.

Creative thoughts and new philosophies ought to be set up to address corruption. This fundamentally identifies with the creativity to address corruption which can be put in place. In the modern world, the establishment for creativity is the utilization of trend setting innovation. To diminish corruption cases, contemporary and most recent mechanical offices and capabilities should be effectively fused into law authorization. Innovative thoughts, for example, body cameras can be extremely proficient when embracing degenerate activities in giving a genuine record of events at a wrongdoing scene or other police job.

The philosophies of controlling police corruption ought to be founded on rationale making antagonistic and undesirable impression of such practices. This would then be fused into law requirement perspectives and strategies. Consequently, most law authorization officials would pass on corruption exercises because of the essential rationale that creates an observation that corruption in the public eye is improper and undesirable. This will be a huge philosophical way to deal with decrease corruption issues.

Professional Missions

The two law enforcement missions are the fight against crime and the public servant. Police officers fight crime against criminals and are regarded as those serving the need of the public under government servant police officers. Police officers serve all individuals and have a civil and legal duty for everyone. If police officers are involved in corruption, they are opposed to be a public servant. This misconduct, however, is due to the hiring of the incorrect people, and this is known as the rotten apple. Screening, training and education, integrity testing, and early warning or audit systems should be enhanced. Improving individual screening such as background checks, interviews, loan checks, polygraphs, drug tests, and other screening instruments are used to remove unsuitable people from the pool of prospective hires. The screening range differs from department to department, but is usually more advanced, particularly when using psychological testing and interviews.

Education was advanced as a required part for improving police morals. In any career choice, education is important to have. It is fundamental for cops to utilize what they realize when they are out on the field as a cop during their tutoring. Training is ethics in the foundation and in-administration courses is recommended today for all police organizations. There are ventures to turn into a cop. To achieve the target of being a cop, one must have instruction and pass all the important preparing. As indicated by Pollock, respectability testing otherwise called ‘Sting’ exercises is proposed to evaluate whether cops are going to settle on legit decisions (Pollock, p.210). I concur with this since it’s fundamental to perceive how an individual thinks and chooses their decisions.

Old Vs New

The rookie policeman may decide not to order anything after entering the restaurant, but the issue is what if he’s hungry and this break is the only break they can have before the shift is over? He may decide to order food, but what can he do if the proprietor refuses to take the money from the cash register? Can he tell the senior and experienced policeman not to go to the restaurant? Or can he report the problem? Wright says that “an ethical dilemma is an issue that forces a choice between two ethical principles” (Wright, 2008) Technically, if one choice is correct and one alternative is incorrect, there can be no dilemma. Going with the correct decision is ethical. The ethical dilemma of the above situation is that the fresh inexperienced officer could determine his professional life as a law enforcement officer by deciding what to do and whatever decision he makes at that stage. The officer’s most immediate dilemma is whether to discuss the information with the police department.

Police Culture

Police subculture can be a belief, attitude, or behavior that only police officers adhere to. The code of silence is a belief among police officers. It’s the concept not to give up another unethical policeman. I’m saying this because police officers stick up for each other and don’t say when they commit misconduct. This is contrary to their obligation to uphold the law. If the rookie reports this problem, his professional life or other officers’ social sanction is in jeopardy, which may destabilize him for the remainder of his career. If the rookie applies the silence code to the scenario, it could affect his moral life. The rookie was trained to apply ethics and professional ethics while at the police academy. Applied ethics is the study of what is correct and wrong regarding a job or topic, whereas professional ethics applies principles of right and wrong regarding a particular profession or occupation.

Learning theorists think that kids learn what they are taught, including ethics and values and conduct (Pollock, p.90) Viewing this from the perspective of a police officer, their beliefs about right or wrong originated from their childhood based on their rewards and penalties. Modeling is a concept of the learning theory that are values and moral beliefs that emerge from those with whom one admires and aspires to identify. I believe this theory of modeling is a little crazy. For instance: we have an individual looking up to a serial killer, is that individual expected to commit wrongful acts of killing just because he/she admires and aspires to identify with the serial killer? This only demonstrates how individuals from a young era can get corrupt. I don’t think anyone is perfect and individuals should want to be themselves to avoid corrupting themselves.

Professional Codes

After conducting an interview with Lt. Michael Holton, he said: “Officers are not only guided by the Code of Conduct, they are also driven by the Code of Ethics”. Police officers must comprehend that the identification is an indication of open confidence and recognize it as an open reality to be kept inasmuch as they are consistent with the morals of police administration. They should never act impertinently or permit individual emotions, biases, hostilities or kinships impact their choices. They should implement the law affably and properly without dread or support, noxiousness, never tolerating tips, and failing to use superfluous power.

To promote both the Code of Conduct and the Code of Ethics, each official gets a duplicate of each upon graduation from the police foundation. Furthermore, they are given a duplicate of each during their yearly execution assessment. This is done to help officials to remember each code and to fortify that the office consolidates the codes into its Core Values. Departmental initiative has made it very evident that the Code of Conduct, the Code of Ethics, and Core Values are held in high respect and officials are liable to teach, up to end, should they disregard any of them.

In the Code of Conduct there is a specific section that states no police officer should accept gratuities. If I was the rookie police officer, I would always follow the code of conduct because failing to do so would require consequences. Pollock states that “police are professionals, and professionals don’t take gratuities” (Pollock, p.187) There are organizations which have prohibited officials from tolerating any sort of endowments and even free suppers. Cop must answer to the organization of these experiences. Fitch expresses that “great basic leadership abilities are among the most significant properties law authorization officials can have” (Fitch, 2010). While it might be difficult to dispose of inclination and other thinking blunders from the basic leadership process by and large, it is feasible for sworn staff to altogether improve the nature of their decisions. With a little exertion and mindfulness, they can figure out how to consider how they outline issues, any sentiments of pomposity, the manners in which they select and assess data, how that data is handled, and the impact of forceful feelings. What’s more, thusly, officials not exclusively can improve the nature of their decisions yet in addition their trust in the choices they make.

Conclusion

As I expressed before police corruption can begin with a gesture of accepting free food. It is imperative to comprehend moral situations in the criminal equity framework. Police corruption has been a continuous circumstance that isn’t discussed as much as police brutality. police officials should be public servants. Police corruption conflicts with what a public servant is. There are constantly two decisions in every moral situation. The good and bad decision however an individual should consistently go with the correct decision. There are a few components in a police subculture. They have certain beliefs, an attitude and explicit practices they pass by. In any case, there are explicit codes they should completely pursue. Set of principles and code of morals are critical in such a case that they pursue these codes, they are making the best choice in avoiding police corruption.

Based on my analysis and knowledge of the ethical dilemma of police corruption, I recommend that there should be consequences for police officers who are corrupt. The consequences for police officers who commit police corruption in taking free food can be charged and prosecuted, and termination from police services. Any activity that is considered corrupt for the law enforcement officers can results in them being charged in the court of law. This occurs when it is confirmed that the acts of the officers in taking free food was done to attract some favor from the police. Depending on the evidence collected, the officer can face various forms of punishment if found guilty such as incarceration, fines or penalties. Termination due to the corrupt practices. The dismissal can be done when the investigations are going on to evaluate the corrupt behavior of the officer. This is done to prevent possible interference from the ongoing investigations. This means that the police officer would risk his or her job if they are linked to certain corrupt practice.

References

1. Fitch, B. (2010, June 01). Good Decisions: Tips and Strategies for Avoiding Psychological Traps. Retrieved from https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/good-decisions
2. Pollock, J. Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781305856585/
3. Schafer, J. R. (2002). Making Ethical Decisions A Practical Model. FBI Law Enforcement. Bulletin, 71(5), 14.
4. Wright, H. (2008). Law Enforcement Ethics 101. Sheriff, 60(1), 11–14. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.links.franklin.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=i3h&AN=28333801&site=eds-live

Police Corruption from Past to Present

Police corruption is one of the most serious offenses in the police service. This kind of behavior has drawn great attention from the public over a long period of time. Police agencies in all cities of the United States, including New York, face criticisms and condemnation for rampant cases of corruption across all ranks. The problem is of great concern because it causes misuse of public resources and exposes citizens to increased risks of crime. This report highlights when, how, and why police corruption started and evolved over time. Using scholarly articles and reliable online databases, this research has found out that police corruption in the United States has evolved from lack of discipline, use of force and political motivation to a systematic and organized form of corruption involving drug trafficking and assault.

Introduction

Police corruption refers to the criminal, civil and procedural violations and abuse of police authority for personal gain. It occurs when a police officer gains material and financial benefits from the use of his or her authority. Common forms of police corruption and misconduct include: extortion, receiving or protecting stolen items, participating in drug trade and human trafficking, and taking bribes (Ivkovic, 2003). In most cases, police corruption involves a whole department, unit, or agency. The organized nature of corruption involving all chains of command makes the vice difficult to correct. The law in Section 18 of the United States Constitution prohibits the use of police authority to violate or conspire to deprive citizens their fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution (Ivkovic, 2003). Despite these efforts to reduce corruption in the police force, the problem has persisted over the years. To control corruption effectively, it is necessary to understand its origin, evolution and nature. The purpose of this paper is to examine police corruption from back then until now.

Origin of Police Corruption: The Use of Force in the Colonial Era

Police corruption is as old as policing itself. During the colonial period, America had a watch system made up volunteers who provided social services such as lighting streets, looking for lost children and runaway animals, and other activities. Policing was significantly ineffective at this time because it sporadic, disorganized and dependent on volunteers. The watch system then evolved to a watch group of men within communities. During the colonial period in America, the night and day watch groups were also ineffective because members of these watch groups would socialize or sleep while on duty. This showed the beginning of corruption as people abused their authority for their own pleasure. The watch groups also lacked proper equipment to deal with social unrests that started to increase in the late 1700s.

Due to immigration from European countries, populations of major cities of the colonial America increased significantly. The population growth caused social disorder and violence. An influx of various racial and ethnic communities created social tension, leading to conflicts and crime. The watch groups could no longer deal with the changing social climate, leading to more formalized policing. In the southern part of the country, the first attempt at policing was the establishment of slave patrols who exercised excessive force to manage racial conflicts and exercise control over slave communities (Reichel, 1988). Modern policing, however, started with the unification of the New York City Police Department in 1845, followed by several other police departments in metropolitan cities such as St. Louis and Los Angeles. The newly created police departments were characterized by significant corruption and misconduct due to political influence and poor supervision. Without proper communication and control of the police service, many police officers abused their authorities for personal gains. Police officers would work with slave masters and politicians to control the slave populations and use excessive force to subdue slaves and gain favor from the ruling class.

Police Corruption During in Post-Colonial America

Although the abuse of power by the police began during the colonial era, systemic and chronic levels of corruption started to take shape after independence. During the 1800s, local politics were highly integrated into the American policing system. There was a mutual relationship between the police and local politicians. An entire metropolitan police department was aligned to a local political group which offered resources and job security to the police officers in exchange for the protection of their political power (Archbold, 2013). The role of the police officers shifted from being custodians of the citizens to being chief political campaigners. Therefore, police corruption in this era took the form of bribes and abuse of authority as the police use their authority to promote the interests of politicians in exchange for personal gains.

Political control over police agencies was possible in the 1800s because politicians were responsible for appointing the heads of police agencies. According to Archbold (2013), “the appointment to the position of police chief came with a price”. Therefore, corruption in this period was encouraged by political groups through unfair hiring processes. The police had to make decisions that reflected the interests of politicians so that they could be hired as chiefs. Political corruption was characterized by activities such as rigging in elections, influencing voting patterns during elections, and excessive use of force (Kelling and Moore, 1988, p.3). The first commission to investigate allegations of police corruption was the Lexow Commission of 1896 which probed a claim that police officers collected bribes from brothel and gambling business owners (The New York Times, 1986). The police allowed prostitution and gambling to operate illegally in exchange for a share of profits. The Commission’s report led to the dismissal of several police officers from duty. Therefore, economic profits became a key motivation of corruption alongside political influence at the turn of the 20th century.

Police Reforms: 1900-1980

In the 1900s, efforts were made to implement policing reforms in America with an aim of reducing political involvement and increasing professionalism in the police department. Citizens, activist groups and police reformers pushed for changes in policing. These efforts were successful as they reduced political involvement and corruption in the process of hiring police officers. The police department was also professionalized through training, setting quality policing standards, and implementing new technologies to help in daily police operations (Archbold, 2013). These standards and technologies improved policing efficacy and sealed loopholes for corruption in the policing system. The Wickersham Commission report of 1931 recommended that the police should be more involved in crime control than social services which had encouraged political influence and corruption in the police service (Wright, 2013). However, these reforms increased tensions between the police and the public as the police started to use excessive force and demand bribes from private entities and members of the public.

Corruption in the police service started to become a profiteering mechanism in the middle of the 20th century, as officers collected bribes from gambling and prostitution businesses. For instance, Seabury report of 1930 revealed that 28 police officers solicited money from prostitutes to protect their business (The New York Times, 1986). During the civil rights movement in 1950s and 1960s, police raids intensified, causing clashes between the police and members of the public. This era of social disorder gave room for corrupt officers to collect bribes in exchange for the protection of private businesses. Harry Gross, an American bookmaker, paid police officers over $1 million every year to protect his gambling business in 1954 (The New York Times, 1986). In 1968, a report by Manhattan’s District Attorney Frank Hogan revealed a pattern of police corruption in which police officers were bribed with cash to warn gamblers of impending police searches.

Systemic and Drug-Related Police Corruption – 1970 to the Present

After 1970, corruption shifted to bribery in drug businesses and became more organized and systematic. According to Bayley and Perito (2011) most of the corruption scandals witnessed in this period are related to drugs. Drug-related corruption cases increased immensely since the late 1900s. Kelly and Nischols (2019) suggests that over 85,000 police officers have been engaged in various scandals over the past decade, and most of them were investigated for drug-related corruption and misconduct. It is clear that the current issues of police corruption in the United States are primarily motivated by drugs and alcohol, assaults, and violence. Police officers engage in systemic corruption to get profits through drug trafficking, often involving violence and burglary.

New York City is one of the most notorious in terms of police corruption and scandals due to its visibility and high crime rates. According to Baer & Armao (1995), drug-related corruption scandals in New York between 1970 and 1990s involved police officers trafficking drugs, seizing and reselling trafficked drugs, and stealing from drug dens. Most often, these corrupt deals involve systematic and organized crime. A good example of an organized drug-related corruption in New York City is the Buddy Boys case of 1986 which involved 11 NYPD members who were indicted for raiding a drug store, stealing and reselling drugs.

Conclusion

Police corruption has been common in the United States since the beginning of security patrol and policing in the 18th century. Before 1970, police corruption was characterized by lack of discipline in the police service as officers abused their authorities and failed to do what they were hired to do. It was an issue of a close connection between the police and politicians in the 19th century and straining relations between the police and citizens in the 20th century. In the 18th century, watch groups and slave patrols used excessive force to combat crime. As the policing system became more organized, police corruption took a more political dimension as politicians hired and bribed police officers who supported their political cause. During the police reforms of the 20th century, politically motivated corruption was followed briberies involving private gambling and prostitution businesses. Recently, corruption has become more systematic and organized, involving drug trafficking and violence.

References

1. Archbold, C. A. (2013). Policing: A Text/Reader (pp. 2–44). SAGE.
2. Baer, Jr., H., & Armao, J. P. (1995). Police Integrity Lost: A Study of Law Enforcement Officers Arrested. Washington: U.S. Department of Justice.
3. Bayley, D. and Perito, R. (2011). Police Corruption: What Past Scandals Teach About Current Challenges, Special Report. Washington: United States Institute of Peace.
4. Ivkovic, S.K. (2003). To Serve and Collect: Measuring Police Corruption. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 93(2), 593-650.
5. Kelling, G.L. and Moore, M.H. (1988). The Evolving Strategy of Policing. Perspectives on Policing, 4, 1-15.
6. Kelly, J. and Nichols, M. (2019). ‘USA TODAY Is Leading a National Effort to Obtain and Publish Disciplinary and Misconduct Records for Thousands of Police Officers. USA Today, Accessed from https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2019/04/24/usa-today-revealing-misconduct-records-police-cops/3223984002
7. Reichel, P.L. (1988). Southern Slave Patrols as a Transitional Police Type. American Journal of Police, 7(2), 51-77.
8. The New York Times (September 24, 1986). Police Corruption: A Look at History. The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/24/nyregion/police-corruption-a-look-at-history.html
9. Wright, R.F. (2013). The Wickersham Commission and Local Control of Criminal Prosecution. Marquette Law Review, 96(4), 1199-1219.

Police Corruption and Methods of Overcoming It

Adam Curtis once said, “Nobody trusts anyone in authority today. It is one of the main features of our age. Wherever you look, there are lying politicians, crooked bankers, corrupt police officers, cheating journalists and double-dealing media barons, sinister children’s entertainers, rotten and greedy energy companies, and out-of-control security services”. What is police corruption? According to Ivkovic, police corruption is a form of police misconduct or police deviance typically defined through the motivation to achieve personal gain. The question asked was: ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree, that high levels of police corruption are usually associated with low levels of police responsiveness to the public and ineffectiveness in detecting the crime?’. Therefore, my focus will be on to what extent do I personally agree that high levels of police corruption are usually associated with low levels of police responsiveness to the public, theories to substantiate my response and also, what can be done to prevent police corruption.

Jamaicans may say that the one thing preventing Jamaica from realizing its potential is corruption. Corruption is the least reported crime and the most talked about crime that is mainly conducted in secrecy by the persons involved. Corrupt activities are enjoyed by the persons who engage in it while, it undermines the society at large. Police corruption involves the misuse of authority for personal gain, any activity in which the police employee compromises their ability to enforce the law, and also the protection of illicit activities from police enforcement. According to Hon Robert Montague, “corruption in the police force remains a significant challenge, noting, however, that the vast majority of the members are law abiding patriotic Jamaicans who work diligently in the service of their fellow citizens”. He also stated that, “as we have seen time and time again, the actions of a corrupt few often cast a long shadow over the good works of the force”. E.R. Stoddard linked police corruption to a ladder however, there are four main types that stands out in the Jamaican society. These are favoritism, shopping, extortion and bribery. Favoritism is basically, granting immunity from traffic prosecutions to some group because of their status while, shopping is taking small items from unlocked buildings during rounds. A recent example of shopping in Jamaica was in St. Elizabeth where as a police officer was accused of stealing cash from a premises during a raid. Extortion is using undue influence to get money, gifts or favors for self or the department. Bribery however, is the payment of cash or gifts for past or future help to avoid prosecution.

There are three main theories for police corruption. They are the rotten apple theory, the deviant subculture theory and the opportunity theory. The rotten apple theory states that the word rotten apple refers to weak individual’s whose presence corrupts everyone else. The rotten apple theory is dominant with officers because it blames the whole affair on one highly unethical person, hence a bad apple. The deviant subculture theory states that the police officers’ subculture is a deviant one and causes corruption. A police officer deals with violence and potential violence every day. Police work is not your average job; police work is shift work, which means they do not always have time for their family and friends. Police officers create a police subculture, whereas they can relate to each other, being police officers. The basis of the deviant subculture is that the police subculture itself causes corruption. The opportunity theory however, is based on the idea that police work in general, causes corruption. Police work is unsupervised. A police officer can seize alcohol or drugs from juveniles and not arrest them and not write a report but keep the seized items for himself/herself. Not only are police seizing alcohol and drugs, police also seize money from drugs. The opportunity theory best explains police corruption because officers are unsupervised with drugs, alcohol, and money each day of their job.

Preventing corruption completely is a difficult task at hand. However, steps can be taken to reduce it significantly. There are a few important ideas that can be implemented which will help to curb corruption. The three areas that need attention are officer training, personal characters, and the incentives program. The first step is to hire police officers of good character, which is difficult for a number of reasons. Officers are human. Giving a person the kind of power that a policeman has can overwhelm one. It is predictable what can happen, as history illustrates so well. What is unpredictable with any kind of reliability is what will happen to a given individual. That is the problem, because that is ideal information to know. It is predictable that some officers will be corrupt. It is also predictable that a large majority will do the job they were hired to do, and do it honestly. Stricter screening methods need to be implemented to decrease the chance that a potential hire will become corrupt. If he can successfully complete all the integrity obstacles, then it becomes more likely that he will be honest. Unfortunately, because policemen are human, no department has been successful in creating test that will reliably predict officer conduct. However, the department can reinforce ethical behavior by example, just like it can reinforce the idea that the Academy does not know what it is like on the streets. Once an officer is hired, the department should do all it can to promote ethics on the job. Officer safety is extremely important. If police are incapacitated, who will be left to protect the citizenry in the future? Along with such indoctrination, ethical indoctrination is paramount. The department must understand that the citizens trust the police to be ethical, and a breach of that trust is unjust. Further, it is not practical to act unethically. People eye the police and their behavior constantly. Corruption in the force makes it easier for a citizen to rationalize acting unlawfully, which just creates more work for the police. If a police officer, who is allegedly the pillar of the law, can deny it, why cannot the citizens who pay for the police services? The credibility of the police vanishes. A corrupt police officer cannot very well express effectively why citizens should obey the law, for he has no consistency and thus no credibility.

The situation of police corruption, specifically policemen planting evidence, stealing contraband for their own personal accounts, and falsifying police reports, is tremendous. I have outlined a few methods to curb the problem and firmly believe if these five officers had been trained differently in the Academy and the field, screened more strictly, undergone ethics indoctrination, and were not faced with the incentive program the likelihood of them facing the situation they did, decreases tremendously. Since corruption of this kind has existed in the police force since ad infinitum, it is conceivable that some or all of these methods have been attempted in some capacity. Another answer, but one that I cannot construct, might be to change the entire ideology and system of policing and punishment. That, I leave to prosperity.

References

1. Curtis, A. (n.d.). Police Quotes. Retrieved from https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/police-quotes
2. Ivković, S. K. (1970, January 1). Police Corruption. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_362
3. Linton, L. (2018, January 25). Scheme to Get Rid of Corrupt Cops. Retrieved from https://jis.gov.jm/scheme-get-rid-corrupt-cops
4. Matthews, K. (2019, July 6). Cop, Accused of Stealing $95,000 During Raid, Arrested. Retrieved from http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/cop-accused-stealing-95000-during-raid-arrested
5. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/19129.html

Influence of Corruption on Country’s Democracy: Essay

What is corruption? This is a question strolling through many people’s minds. Corruption has come to be termed as the use of energy for personal gain. Corruption has been to speak of the century from again in the late 90s till date. Corruption has affected many aspects of the society. This has consequently led to the degradation of the society’s morals and values. Corruption has come in many varieties such as bribery, fraud and country seize. However, human beings still ask has corruption been affecting the democracy of the society. Is corruption absolutely affecting the electricity held by the humans or is it a hoax that we easily let go of and overlook about it. No, corruption is the largest destroyer of democracy in the society extra than even tribalism or racism ever will in a lifetime. Corruption has affected democracy to the point that people do not have confidence in the device anymore.

First, loss of trust in the government with the aid of the citizens. In many of corrupt governments, the citizens have come to the conclusion that the government is vain and cannot come to their aid. Corrupt leaders are now not simply worried with the rest of the population, or even their country. The elevated corruption leads to declining trust in a device and the state. In the USA with high corruption levels, the typical public has no confidence in their politicians and civil servants. The public turns into cynical to the speech and deeds of all the political leaders and public officials, whether or now not they are corrupt. With suspicion and even fears, the population can’t make investments itself in voting, being concerned in the civil society or taking part in public debates. As a result, the subculture of democracy begins to crumble.

Second, rule of elites there is no strength in the hand of people. As the be counted of fact, the common structure of corruption ‘state capture’ comes into existence in any device of governance when the kingdom institutions, legislatures and even governing parties are owned through a political faction, small elites, a small number of companies or businessmen and women. These entities systemically channel country wide public assets for their very own self-enrichment. They manipulate policies, laws and guidelines to their personal advantage. Democratic institutions, laws and policies are manipulated in such a way that although corruption is taking place, it seems on the floor that outcomes were reached thru ‘normal’ rules, procedures and processes. Hence, this kind of corruption undermines the power of ordinary citizens to impact choice and policy-making as choices and policies have been bought by using small elites. It undermines the legitimacy of governments and democratic values such as have confidence and tolerance.

Third, when corruption takes its roots into the democratic system, corrupt leaders may seek to stop democratic exams and balances so that they can continue to continue to be in electricity unpunished. They regularly skip formal establishments which are meant to enable transparency in government spending and different decisions, whilst oversight businesses and the judiciary may be politicized or left weak. For example, when the populace of Venezuela started to demand reforms after years of financial decline and rising corruption, the response of the elites used to be the imprisonment of opponents, bodily threats, and isolation to the world.

Political corruption leads to the repression of political opponents and the regularly occurring police brutality upon the public and other political groups; justice is denied, and freedom is curtailed. It can even lead to the upward jab of dictatorship. As per Transparency International, such assaults towards the courts and judiciary enable corruption and impunity and harm an essential pillar of democratic governance. When judicial bodies, watchdog establishments as properly as our bodies are captured, the rule of regulation turns into ‘rule by law’. As a result, the fabric of democracy is unwoven gradually.

Transparency International argues corruption and social exclusion lead to popular disenchantment with standard institutions. Citizens feel that the gadget is useless and assume that the kingdom is unable to tackle their major socio-economic concerns. The corrupted surroundings can create house for populist politicians. According to main populism scholar, Jan-Werner Mueller, populist governance incorporates three fundamental features: attempts to hijack hooked up institutions, corruption and ‘mass clientelism’, and efforts to systematically suppress civil society. By claiming to derive authority at once from the people, they strive to subvert democratic institutions that restrict their power. Populists regularly taint their political competitors as a section of immoral corrupt elites. However, as soon as in power, they frequently flip out to be greater corrupt than the ‘elites’ that they displaced. Some populist leaders who have come to power by way of capitalizing on public disgust with corruption, ironically, now are looking for to undermine anti-corruption mechanisms and democratic institutions.

Corruption breeds instability, violence and extremism. As the systemic corruption erodes the credibility and legitimacy of, trust in and assist for democratic constitutions, establishments and laws, it leads to residents looking towards alternative governance systems to alter their lives, whether or not non secular and typical fundamentalism, gangsterism and populism. Those marginalized because of corruption seek answers in violence, religious, ethnic and political extremism. We have ample evidence of structures overthrown with the aid of citizens outraged by extravagant ranges of corruption. For instance, some years ago, almost half of Brazilians had been in favor of restoring a navy junta if corrupt politicians had been not punished via the judiciary. Later, much less than half of the country’s populace believed that democracy to be preferable to any other structure of government. This declining trust in establishments led Brazilians to reflect on consideration on their options and they turned, in tremendous numbers, to Jair Bolsonaro, who had praised military rule.

Corruption is the largest hazard to the democratic gadget and culture. Therefore, vital precautions and moves must be taken before the corrupt way of life turns into normalized and institutionalized in our country. The most high-quality measure would be the improvement of the experience of integrity towards the state and the public. Likewise, the introduction of robust watchdogs such as the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Transparency International, and the National Human Rights Commission is crucial. Another measure that performs an indispensable role to take a look at corruption would be protection and awards to whistleblowers. Last but now not the least, the appointment of the equipped and honest candidates for public offices, and strict punishment to the corrupted leaders, officials, corporations as nicely as establishments is the most for creating a corruption-free society.

What Does ‘Corruption’ Mean: Essay

The essay will argue that there is no establishment of a definition of corruption universally accepted and applicable. It aims to explain corruption through different approaches and the limitations of each concept as a universal matter and regarding its applicability. The essay will reference the difficulty of measuring corruption only as matter of proving the lack of an authoritatively agreed upon definition of what counts as corruption and not as a matter of a serious obstacle to measurement. It will explore some of the different meanings of corruption in a business and individual level through ‘grand corruption’, in a community level through ‘petty corruption’, but it will mainly focus on proving that what is corrupt for one country might not be corrupt for another as the standard acceptable behavior is not a universal matter and the importance this plays when attempting to define corruption. Even though it will challenge some of the definitions of corruption given with real case scenarios, the essay’s aim is not to debate their credibility, in fact every definition the essay will present is applicable in a certain scenario or certain circumstance, but to argue that is no standard definition of corruption nor one applicable in every case. Before it explores concepts as ‘grand corruption’ and ‘petty corruption’ from the view of Transparency International, the essay will start with a philosophical approach of the term ‘corruption’, through the work of Mark Philp, Rothstein, Heywood, referencing Robert Dahl and others. By the end of the essay, the difficulty of answering the question ‘What does ‘corruption’ mean?’ with one clear definition of the subject, the essay will show that improvement have been done in the recent years regarding the understanding of corruption. However, it is safe to say that academics are yet no close to stablish a meaning for corruption.

Suggested by Mark Philp in the philosophical debate of corruption, political corruption can only be understood if we make a commitment with the “conceptions of the political and the form of the public interest” (Philp, 1997), few scholars applied this on their attempt to define corruption in political constitutions. However, criticized for their restricted applicability to universal matters and possible lack of objectivity regarding social-scientific ideals. In order to compete these critics, Rothstein developed a “uncontroversial and universal” definition of corruption (Sparling, 2018, 377). From Rothstein observation of Robert Dahl work seeing ‘political equality’ as the ‘basic norm’ serves to be of high importance. This is supported by the example of the Swiss and British systems as, he recognizes that Britain “does not provide room for citizens to take initiatives to organize many referenda” and arguing that Switzerland is “constantly having coalition cabinets”, yet that does not cause us to consider them nondemocratic, in fact, both systems are imbedded in ‘political equality’ and are considered democratically ‘stable’ and ‘functioning’, because ‘political equality’ promotes the recognition of democratic improvements, (Rothstein, 2008). Rothstein continues, arguing that ‘impartiality’ is the key to identify corruption as he suggests they are opposites. The term of impartiality applies to office as it is argued (Sparling, 2018) is a “necessary condition of the office”, when there is a disagreement among different parties the person judging it ‘must be impartial’. On these terms, Rothstein concept explains the reasons behind the universal disapproval of judicial bribery. This is target of several critics, Rothstein concept of ‘impartiality’ does not have in consideration the individual as a human being but only as economic actor, nor it consider the limitations of human capacity, for example in the case of impartial judgement, it is argued by the scholar that the judge would be influence by the time he has to make the decision and the information he has on the case. The same article argues the poor development of Rothstein concept when regarding the ‘rule of law’, in the author claims there is a connection between legitimation in ‘procedural impartiality’ yet does not adventure explain the applicability of his work in this matter.

Flowing this approach, Heywood stresses on his work ‘Routledge Handbook of Political Corruption’ that one must not confuse corruption with ‘incompetence’ because the two definitions must not be equal and that when defining corruption, one must remember that not every self-interested act must be considered corrupt. The author highlights the possibility of objectively defining corruption but rapidly defends the high-level difficulty of doing so as he says is “much more difficult than the literature generally assumes”. He believes that the problem with defining corruption is directly related with the Western political thinking, he explains that the Western definitions and interpretations of corruption rely upon a ‘sense of political order’ in order to stop politicians to using their power and position to act inconsequently and damage the sate wealth or policies as well as affecting the community. In his understanding it is of great importance to attain people’s concept of corruption, what the community sees as corrupt and causes behind and their view of the political system to attempt to define corruption. The author admits that his work does not find one entirely applicable definition of corruption but makes a great effort to try explaining it objectively. He begins by identifying the main ‘elements’ of a political corruption definition. The first ‘element’ is the establishment of a ‘conception’ underlining limits and standards regarding the behavior of the public office, with aim on community interest. Secondly, the assumption that corruption includes misrepresentation or self-interested representation of the public office to privilege and prioritize the interest of specific individual. Finally, the assumption that there are frequently three actors ‘involved or affected’ in acts of corruption: “the occupant of the public office (A), the intended beneficiary of that office (B) and the actual (i.e., newly intended) beneficiary of the particular exercise of that office (C)” (Heywood, 2014). After identifying these ‘elements’ the author presents us with his attempted definition of corruption. Stating, the act of political corruption succeeds when A (public official) disrespects the office conduct, not prioritizing the interest of B (public interest) but prioritizing their self-interest and a third party’s interest (C), “who rewards or otherwise incentivizes A to gain access to goods or services they would not otherwise obtain” (Heywood, 2014). The scholar continues explaining that in this definition it should not be assumed that A is on infringement of the law as he believes legal definitions often fail to serious cases of corruption.

Transparency International offers an overview of corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”, dividing corruption in ‘grand corruption’, ‘petty corruption’ and ‘political corruption’. It enlightens ‘grand corruption’ as the use of ‘high-level’ power to advantage a minority, harming the society often with impunity. An example of ‘grand corruption’ is the case of the Ukrainian ex-President Viktor Yanukovych accused of the burglary of U.S. $7.5 billion. Transparency International accuses Ukrainian prosecutors of ‘reluctance’ when publicly judging his actions and tolerating the ex-president to freely spend the ‘stolen wealth’ in Moscow under protection of the Russian government, once Ukraine cannot legally effectuate ‘private prosecutions’ (Transparency International, 2016). ‘Petty corruption’, in other hand, is defined has the daily misapplication of power ‘by public officials’ towards common citizens when trying to access public services such as police stations. Stressing that this is a reason for concern specially in the public sector since “corruption incidents in the public sector (7,4% in 2011 versus 7,2% in 2010) compared to the private sector (3,4% in 2011 versus 4% in 2010)” (Transparency International, 2012). Using the Greek financial crisis of 2011 as an example of ‘petty corruption’, the ‘2011 National Survey on Corruption in Greece’ showed that the financial crises caused a reduction of the cost of this type of corruption ‘by 78 million euro’ with essential public services like hospitals being the heart of ‘petty corruption’ of this issue in the public sector (Transparency International, 2012). Lastly, this movement defines ‘political corruption’ as the self-interested management of “policies, institutions and rules of procedure in the allocation of resources and financing by political decision makers”, through the overuse of their position in order to ensure the maintenance of their “power, status and wealth” (Transparency International). This type of corruption is pointed as the one deserving more concern and attention. According to Transparency International, 2019, the main challenge when fighting this type of corruption is containing the influence ‘corrupt actors’ might have upon ‘political leaders’, as it is in the case of many Arab governments. Despite the applicability of the concepts, the measurement of corruption from the Transparency International has been questioned many times. Considering the practice of corruption often being done in secret it is hard the evaluate the credibility of this data. Indeed, the CPI (Corruption Perceptions Index) is the most used indicator of global corruption, nevertheless it is, arguably, made from the opinion of a small percentage of, either experts or business-related people (The Guardian, 2013).

In conclusion, this essay identified different attempts to explain corruption on different fields, such as, the context of ‘impartiality’ defended by scholars like Rothstein, the attempt of defining corruption from Heywood on his work ‘Routledge Handbook of Political Corruption’ through a social-science approach and the division of corruption by Transparency International in ‘grand corruption, ‘petty corruption’ and ‘political corruption’ that led to finally dividing the occurrence of corruption between the private and public sector. In the end, corruption in the public sector showed more reason for concern based on CPI data. Nonetheless, as it points out through the essay, all these conceptions of corruption are reason for disagreement between those who adventure defining corruption. Leading us to the inevitable conclusion that the occurrence of corruption, even though in some states is a matter of ‘common knowledge’, is difficult to define. It is however generally accepted that corruption is a practice of ‘clandestine nature’, leading to the use of corruption indices based on the opinion of small groups of people in business positions. To finalize, despite academic studies of corruption recently increasing significantly, there is no stablished definition of corruption. From Heywood (2014) it is possible to see the Western influences on some of the corruption concepts as well as the presence of need to explain liberal constitutions and free market. Similarly, to critics of realism approach of international relations, corruption is criticized for its lack of specific definition. As Jonathan Rose stresses on the article ‘The Meaning of Corruption’, “If corruption is to mean something, it cannot mean everything”. The meaning of corruption continues lacking a definite definition with global applicability, despite many definitions being developed, however based on social opinion, cultural concept or relying on the opinion of the minority opinion of influential people.

References

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