Wealth Corruption

Political corruption is a major problem in the US today. It involves almost all levels of government and affects people from all walks of life. Public office is a noble post and citizens put their trust in government officials to carry out their constitutional duties for the benefit of the citizenry. The problem comes in where both elected and unelected officials perform their duties with the goal of personal gain in full view of the law. The ethical and moral wrongs of corruption are unjustifiable in any context.

In order for a Police agency to prevent and deter Police misconduct, there must be a definition to what actions and behaviors that the term will encompass. The term ‘police corruption’ has been used to describe many activities: bribery; violence and brutality; fabrication and destruction of evidence; racism; favoritism or nepotism. Many different scholars differ in their own examples of the definition. Before attempting to the question of whether a precise definition is possible, it is worth examining the range of activities that might be included within a broad discussion of corruption. In (Bayley and Perito, 2011), it is defined as police corruption is a contested phrase with narrow and broad meanings. Narrowly

There are many different forms of corruption; gratuity, involving free meals, free dry cleaning and discounts; bribery, involving the exchange of money or something of value between the police and wrong doer (this is very common among narcotics officers); theft and Burglary, involving officers stealing property, money and/or drugs from the department; and stealing from people under the influence, who essentially become victims of the police. A new form of police corruption developed in the early 1980’s and into the 1990’s, which include brutality, discrimination, sexual harassment, intimidation, and illicit the use of weapons. The Mollen Commission found that “most corrupt officers start off as honest and idealistic.” The career of corruptions begins passively with accepting minor gratuities that gradually begin to involve more serious violation of the laws, involving larger amounts of money and officers initiating corrupt acts. It can be said that power inevitably tends to corrupt, and it is yet to be recognized that, while there is no reason to presume that police officers as individuals are any less fallible than other members of society, people are often shocked and outraged when officers are exposed violating the law. The danger of police corruption could invert the formal goals of the organization and may lead to the use of organizational power to encourage and create crime rather than to deter it. There

The Miami River Cops scandal was an unfortunate blemish on the Miami Police Department’s reputation. Many factors contributed to the 100 plus police officers involvement, three of the most significant being; corrupt leadership, personal greed, and victimless crimes. The Miami Police Department responded tenaciously to the corruption by establishing measures with the aim of preventing such rampant corruption in the future. As shocking as the Miami River Cops corruption scandal may seem, it is certainly not the only case of police corruption to happen within the United States. Another equally shocking case of police corruption occurred in Cleveland, Ohio when 44 officers from five law enforcement agencies were charged with corruption stemming from narcotics.

Someone who is abusing the power that is given to him or her defines corruption, however, the word in its self is more than a simple idea; it is an intricate network. Since people’s views about ethical and moral behavior affect the way corruption is examined, the word has a slightly different meaning to each person. Additionally, misconduct across various societies is viewed differently due to social and cultural borders. The criminal justice system has had many instances where corruption had affected the outcome of a case and has inserted itself into the legal process.

As said in every economics class, the reason every business goes into business is to make money. The same can be said in criminal cases involving businesses. In the majority of cases, executives and people highly ranked in the company tend to bend the numbers in the financial/accounting areas of the business or corporation. They do not do this for fun, but rather to make money. Something needs to be done before corporations really get out of hand.

It is argued that bribery and other forms of corruption for financial gain is a far from unexpected outcome given the fact that police officers and many other public servants are inadequately paid for the job they do. Low pay is frequently cited as a cause of a lack of integrity for people in all positions, particularly in societies where material objects are highly valued but salaries are low (Westmarland, 2005). However, even in societies where police officers are reasonably well paid, and where corrupt activities are deemed unacceptable, the fact that there is a perceived disparity between income and responsibilities may lead to the development of corruption. Similarly, perceived inequities of income within police forces may also make the temptations toward corruption more attractive (Banks, 2013). The issue of pay and the perceived disparity in the level of responsibility for that pay is not unique to United States law

Corruption has always been a danger to law enforcement, just as it has been a danger to all of mankind since the beginning of time. Since the very first police agency was formed in the 1800s, corruption has been widespread. The 19th century was an era in which politics played a very large role in police forces. Various political parties essentially had some police departments in their pockets, and as long as officers served to further those political parties’ agendas, the officers’ continued employment was guaranteed. Since politicians have not always been known for being straight-laced, one can easily see how corruption within police departments became prevalent. Since officers were not serving the people, but rather the political elite, their motives were constantly in question. It was not long before politicians began employing police officers to overlook and even protect their illicit activities. Through this practice, officers began to see the potential monetary and political benefits of allowing and participating in certain illegal actions. Even after the establishment of countermeasures such as police commissions, civil service exams, and legislative changes, corruption remained rampant. This corruption was perhaps best exemplified by none other than the actions of many officers within the Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Corruption within the New York Police Department is a quickly growing phenomenon; to an extent, this is largely due to the cop culture that encourages silence and draws the line at honesty. The good, honest officers are afraid to speak up against co-workers and in the process become corrupt themselves. When police departments were first established in the mid-nineteenth century, corruption quickly followed suit. It began with minor acts of misconduct and today deals with serious criminal activities. Scholars have noted that there is a strong correlation between the officers taking part in corrupt acts and officers wanting to fit in with the culture. In this paper, I argue that the deeper an officer in the New York police department gets into the police culture, the more likely it is that they become involved in narcotic corruption

Noble cause corruption is also referred to as the “Dirty Harry” problem or the “CSI Effect” (Perez & Moore, 2012). The noble cause corruption usually portrays how an Officer breaks the law in order to justify the means; believing they are doing the right thing in order to get the job done. In similar views to Perez and Moore’s (2012) theory of noble cause corruption, Peak et al. (2010) identified this type of misconduct as the “principle of double effect”, that is, when an officer does something illegal, such as planting narcotics on a suspect in order to secure a conviction (p.

Police corruption is one of the ethical issues affecting law enforcement officers. Corruption is defined as “impairment of integrity, virtue or moral principle; inducement to do wrong by improper or unlawful means” (Merriam Webster Online, 2009). While the most recognizable form of corruption involves officers taking money for favors (bribery), the actions that are considered corruption include filing false police reports, harassment of any person due to sex, race, creed, religion, national origin or sexual orientation, and failure to protect the rights of citizens. Corruption exists in all levels of law enforcement.

It would be convenient to start this research paper by stating that corruption is a challenge mainly for businesses in developing countries and that it is unrelated to the current affliction of the economy in the United States. It would also be convenient to claim corruption has declined in America as a result of awareness raising campaigns and the numerous anti-corruption laws. But none of those aforementioned statements would be true. Corruption is not the exception, but rather the rule in today’s business practices. In 2004, Daniel Kaufmann, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution and former director at the World Bank, calculated an index of "legally corrupt" manifestations which is defined as the extent of undue influence

Since the phenomenon of globalization, companies that decided to broaden their horizons have to face multiple challenges and their management functions need some adaptations. While going abroad, companies may become concerned with the subject of corruption that makes the business with foreign countries even more complicated. Even if there is a willingness to fight and reduce the corruption across the world, companies must be aware that this subject exists and must take it into account while dealing with foreign companies, their efforts to understand and adapt to local corruption influencing their success of

Political corruption has existed throughout the ages. It believed to be most prominent in positions of power, because of the role money plays in getting people power. However, over the centuries, corruption has changed so much so as to not match a particular definition of corruption, perpetually growing deceptively harder to find (Ebbe).

Corruption is a complex political, social, and economic anomaly that negatively affects developing and developed countries. It weakens democratic institutions, holds economic development, widening the rich-poor gap and certainly leads to governmental instability. The World Bank definition of corruption states that “…the abuse of public office for private gain”.