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This study examines the relationship between police culture and support for corruption among Ghanaian police officers.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the relationship between police culture and support for corruption among Ghanaian police officers.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on data from a survey of 616 police officers across three regions in Ghana. The research questions and hypotheses are addressed through a hierarchical regression analysis.
Findings
The results show that perception of corruption prevalence, lack of deterrence (i.e. perceived oversight measures) and the Upper East Region significantly predicted officers’ support for corruption. Particularly, lack of deterrence was a consistent predictor of support for corruption across different models compared to corruption prevalence. Contrary to previous studies, code of silence was found not to predict officers’ support for corruption.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the police culture and corruption debate an African perspective, where little research has explored the relationship between police culture and corruption. The code of silence not predicting support for corruption contradicts previous studies and contributes to the debate, literature and theory development.
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There is no comparative research into the Chinese (PSB) police and the Indian police generally and none on police corruption in particular. This paper aims to show what police…
Abstract
Purpose
There is no comparative research into the Chinese (PSB) police and the Indian police generally and none on police corruption in particular. This paper aims to show what police corruption and malpractices look like in China and India and offer up some suggestions as to why wide spread malpractices persists.
Design/methodology/approach
Horses’ mouth qualitative research is supported by primary public and police survey data.
Findings
There are many similarities in corruption “tricks of the trade” in both the countries, as well as in the reasons for its persistence. However, petty police corruption is more pervasive and less subtle in India. But both the forces suffer from politicization of policing, criminalization of politics, culture of tolerance towards substantive justice over procedural justice and master/servant attitude towards the public. In China, the police have administrative powers beyond criminal legislation, and Indian corruption is underscored by the culture of “Jugaad”.
Research limitations/implications
This is largely a qualitative research, so the usual arguments regarding limitations on its generalization applies. However, the insights in this article may provide some understanding of this under-researched topic and may stimulate further research in this field. It may also offer pointers to potential solutions for practitioners and policymakers.
Practical implications
By providing data on what corruption looks like and why it persists, policymakers can use the findings of this study to develop measures to address them. In so doing they would create a police service in India and China that is less prone to corruption and misconduct, thereby increasing public trust in these institutions.
Social implications
Peace and security is a prerequisite condition for economic and social modernization through the rule of law. Reform of the police is a critical success factor in this process. Therefore, by reforming the police, India and China stand a better chance of eradicating poverty and reducing inequality.
Originality/value
There is little in the way of research into the Chinese Police and none into Chinese police corruption. There is also no comparative study of the Chinese and Indian police generally and none on police corruption in particular.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the roots of police corruption, evaluate the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures, and suggest recommendations to prevent and control…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the roots of police corruption, evaluate the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures, and suggest recommendations to prevent and control police corruption in South Korea.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts a qualitative approach to identify the key causes and to assess the reform agenda of police corruption in South Korea. In doing so, it introduces a brief history and profile of the police force, explores changes in police corruption, identifies the roots of police corruption, assesses the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures and offers policy recommendations to curb corruption in the South Korean police.
Findings
This paper claims that conventional and current anti-corruption measures have not been effective in minimizing police corruption in South Korea. It identifies the scope of police work and duties without proper accountability, a code of silence in police organizations, the low ethical standards of police officers and weak punitive measures against corrupt police officers as the main causes of corruption. Strenuous reform efforts that directly target these causes are needed to reduce corruption in the South Korean police.
Originality/value
This paper will be a useful reference for readers who are interested in why corruption has not been effectively prevented and controlled in the South Korean police.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the causes of police corruption in Taiwan and identify those factors which can enhance the status of police.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the causes of police corruption in Taiwan and identify those factors which can enhance the status of police.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review and eight in-depth interviews of informants are employed to support the arguments of environment, education, governance and culture and to formulate a typology of police corruption in Taiwan.
Findings
The literature review and eight interviews confirm that individual cases of police corruption have replaced systemic police corruption in Taiwan. The author concludes that police corruption should be addressed in the context of both environment and institutional design. Even though the public perceptions of police integrity in Taiwan have been trending positively over the years, the individual cases of police corruption which occur within certain precincts indicate the continued importance of initiating institutional reforms. The public perceptions of Taiwan’s police force will be further improved if police corruption can be minimized and properly controlled.
Practical implications
This paper can serve as a benchmark to evaluate future development of Taiwan police corruption.
Originality/value
This paper provides an analysis of the causes of police corruption in Taiwan and the measures taken to curb it.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the contextual differences and causes of police corruption in Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan and to assess their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the contextual differences and causes of police corruption in Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan and to assess their governments’ effectiveness in minimising this problem.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper begins by identifying the contextual differences in the five countries before analysing their major causes of police corruption and their governments’ effectiveness in minimising it.
Findings
Police corruption is a more serious problem in Indonesia and the Philippines because of their more difficult governance environments, low salaries of police officers, red tape, lack of meritocracy in recruitment and promotion, and lack of accountability of police officers. By contrast, the perceived extent of police corruption has declined in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan in recent years because of the improvement in the salaries of their police officers and the implementation of various police reforms.
Originality/value
This comparative analysis of combating police corruption in five Asian countries will be of interest to policy makers and scholars concerned with minimising this problem.
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Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer, Hans D. Schmalzried, Brooke E. Mathna and Krista L. Long
The purpose of the study is to provide empirical data on cases of drug‐related police corruption. It identifies and describes incidents in which police officers were arrested for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to provide empirical data on cases of drug‐related police corruption. It identifies and describes incidents in which police officers were arrested for criminal offenses associated with drug‐related corruption.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is a quantitative content analysis of news articles identified through the Google News search engine using 48 automated Google Alerts queries. Statistical analyses include classification trees to examine causal pathways between drugs and corruption.
Findings
Data were analyzed on 221 drug‐related arrest cases of officers employed by police agencies throughout the USA. Findings show that drug‐related corruption involves a wide range of criminal offenses, and that cocaine is the most prevalent drug. Older officers and those employed by large agencies are less likely than others to lose their jobs after a drug‐related arrest.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited by the quality of the available content in each case. The data are also limited to cases that involve an official arrest. Additionally, the data are the result of a filtering process that includes the exercise of media discretion as to types of news stories reported and the content devoted to particular news stories.
Practical implications
The data provide documentation of drug‐related corruption and the drug trade in 141 police agencies and the need for police executives to develop effective strategies to address it.
Originality/value
The study augments the few drug corruption studies published and is the only study known to describe drug‐related corruption at many police agencies across the USA.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the extent and impact of corruption on public trust and on the stability of the Colombian police. The effectiveness of public controls…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the extent and impact of corruption on public trust and on the stability of the Colombian police. The effectiveness of public controls, civilian oversight, and overseeing bodies is evaluated to determine the degree of impunity and the level of independence from other agencies of control.
Design/methodology/approach
The research in this study is based on data analyses of surveys, interviews, and an observational approach. This paper considers four general surveys, namely: Latinobarómetro, Iberobarómetro, Global Corruption Barometer, Corruption Perception Indexes, and World Values Survey. The observation consisted of accompanying Bogotá police department teams for two months during the evenings between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. This study draws upon 20 interviews with police officers of all ranks. Additionally, an informal observation of police activities during the night was carried out to discover the occurrence of corruption, which was impossible to reveal by a more formal observation.
Findings
Although corruption in the Colombian police force is presumably a generalized phenomenon, it is still one of the most appreciated agencies among Colombians. However, scandals have been cleverly mitigated by rhetoric and apparent purges and the setting‐up of inoffensive mechanisms of control. Internal inspection and civilian oversight have been weakened – rendered ineffective by an increasingly powerful police leadership.
Research limitations/implications
Since corruption is a concealed phenomenon, its analysis always causes problems. Police officers are reluctant to talk about the problem and there is an organizational denial of the phenomenon.
Originality/value
The paucity of academic research on police forces in Latin America is still apparent and the field of study lacks a real degree of specialization. Similarly, there has been no empirical examination of issues pertaining to the study of the modern Colombian force. This paper thus attempts to compensate for the lack of empirical research on the Colombian police. It contributes to the overall literature on police corruption by explaining the organizational features of bribing and police corruption on the beat.
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The purpose of this paper is to explain why Singapore has succeeded in curbing the problem of police corruption and to identify the six lessons which other Asian countries can…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain why Singapore has succeeded in curbing the problem of police corruption and to identify the six lessons which other Asian countries can learn from Singapore's experience.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyzes the causes of police corruption in Singapore during the British colonial period and describes the measures adopted by the People's Action Party government after assuming office in June 1959 to curb police corruption. The effectiveness of these measures is assessed by referring to Singapore's perceived extent of corruption according to three international indicators and the reported cases of police corruption from 1965 to 2011.
Findings
The Singapore Police Force has succeeded in minimizing police corruption by improving salaries and working conditions, cooperating with the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, enhancing its recruitment and selection procedures, providing training and values education for its members, and adopting administrative measures to reduce the opportunities for corruption. Other Asian countries afflicted with rampant police corruption can learn six lessons from Singapore's success.
Originality/value
This paper will be of interest to those policy makers, scholars, and anti-corruption practitioners, who are interested in learning how Singapore has succeeded in curbing police corruption.
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The purpose of this paper is to explain why police corruption is rampant in Indonesia by analysing its perceived extent, causes and anti-corruption measures.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain why police corruption is rampant in Indonesia by analysing its perceived extent, causes and anti-corruption measures.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper relies on primary and secondary sources and survey data to analyse the perceived extent and causes of police corruption in Indonesia.
Findings
Police corruption is widespread in Indonesia because of the inadequate budget allocated to the police, police officers are paid low salaries and recruited and promoted on their ability to pay bribes instead of merit, corrupt police officers are not detected or punished and corrupt behaviour is tolerated by many Indonesians. Consequently, policy makers in Indonesia can only minimise police corruption if they have the political will and capacity to introduce appropriate reforms to address its five causes.
Originality/value
This paper will be useful to those scholars, policy makers and anti-corruption practitioners who are interested in learning about the extent and causes of police corruption in Indonesia and why efforts to curb it are ineffective.
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