An Institutional Explanation for Corruption of Criminal Justice Officials
1988; Cato Institute; Volume: 8; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1943-3468
Autores Tópico(s)Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance
ResumoEven a very limited sampling of headlines from news magazines over the last several years about instances of corruption by police, prosecutors, andjudges illustrates the magnitude of corruption among law enforcement officials. For example: “A True Prince of the City: In Chicago, A Cop Goes Underground toCrack a Police Dope Ring” (Time, 26 July 1982, p. 17); “Corruption Is Still a Fact of Life” (U.S. News & World Report, November 1982, p. 46); “The Trouble with Harry: A Federal Judge Goes on Trial in Nevada on BriberyCharges” (Time, 2 April 1984, p. 64); “The Real Miami Vice?” (Newsweek, 11 November 1985, p. 32); and “Passing Judgment on the Judges: A Spate of Legal Troubles in the Judiciary” (Time, 20 January 1986, p. 66). This list only touches the surface; after all, these are only some of the officials who got caught. Even if a similar number of crimes by public officials were cleared by arrest as crimes in general (roughly 20 percent of reported crimes and perhaps less than 10 percent of all crimes), the total level of corruption would be substantial. But there are several reasons to believe that the crimes that public officials commit are considerably less likely to be reported (exposed) than private sectorcrime. Corruption by law enforcement officials is actually a black market for the property rights over which those officials have been given
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