Corruption

Corruption can be defined as "the misuse of entrusted power for personal

benefit". It can also be described as letting personal or family relationships influence

economic decision making, be it by private economic agents or by government officials.

Corruption is always kept secret and therefore individual behavior of corrupt agents is

almost impossible to observe systematically in real life. The objectives of government are

vital to the understanding of the diverse negative effects of corruption on the public

service. Corruption renders governments unable or unwilling to maximize the welfare of

the public. It distorts agents' decisions and limits the contractual space available to agents

and the government. Corruption can be broken down into two sections, internal and

external corruption. Internal corruption is the illegal acts and agreements within a police

department by more than one of the officers. External corruption is the illegal acts and

agreements with the public by one or more officers in a department. For a corrupt act to

occur, three distinct elements of police corruption must be present simultaneously: 1)

misuse of authority, 2) misuse of official capacity, and 3) misuse of personal attainment.

It can be said that power inevitably tends to corrupt, and it is yet to be recognized that,

while there is no reason to suppose that policemen as individuals are any less fallible than

other members of society, people are often shocked and outraged when policemen are

exposed violating the law. The reason is simple. There deviance elicits a special feeling

of betrayal. Most studies support the view that corruption is endemic, if not universal, in

police departments. The danger of corruption for police, and this is that it may 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. General police deviance can include

brutality, discrimination, sexual harassment, intimidation, and illicit use of weapons.

However, it is not particularly obvious where brutality, discrimination, and misconduct

end and corruption begin.

A corrupt principal creates allocation inefficiencies and cripples its credible

commitment to effective policies, and opens the door to opportunism. Because corruption

must be hidden from the public and is not enforced by courts it entails transaction costs,

which are larger than those from legal exchange. This suggests that corrupt contracts are

primarily relational contracts where legal exchange serves as a basis for sealing and

enforcing corrupt agreements. Legal exchange not only provides for corrupt

opportunities, but for the necessary enforcement mechanisms. Examples of such legal

exchange are long-term business exchange, belonging to the same firm or political party

or being embedded in social relationships. The latter may even comprise the engagement

in charitable institutions. Reform should not only focus on limiting opportunities for

corrupt behavior but also on impeding the enforcement of corrupt agreements.

Police corruption is defined as the abuse of police authority for personal or

organizational gain. This comes in many shapes and sizes, from the major drug

trafficking and money laundering to looking the other way on minor everyday violations

of the law. Ever since the concept of rules and regulation came about there have been

certain people who were chosen to enforce those regulations. Some of those law

enforcement personnel have been persuaded to look the other way on certain violations

committed by their friends or family. Payments for these inconsistencies could come in

the way of personal favors, bribes, or gratuities. Other corruption activities involve more

serious crimes such as brutality, drugs, and framing of suspects.

The international watch group has recently listed the three most corrupted nations

in the world, which are Pakistan, China, and Taiwan. There are corrupted police officers

all over the world. However, like in everything else, some nations are more corrupt than

the other. Since America practices justice, it should find a way to eliminate corruption in

other countries. Although it is not our responsibility to help, we should still do it, since

America is trying to spread foreign policies all over the world. This is a way to start.

For example, in Pakistan, many police officers can get transfers and promotions

whenever they want to, for a bribe. I am sure that their government