The 2005 Global Corruption Barometer, based on a Gallup International survey conducted on behalf of Transparency International for International Anti-Corruption Day 2005, reveals widespread concern about corruption around the globe.
Transparency International reports the survey that:
“…shows that people believe corruption is deeply embedded in their countries. When a poor young mother believes that her government places its own interests above her child’s, or that securing services like that child’s basic health care requires a hand under the table, her hope for the future is dampened. But embedded corruption can be rooted out when people join together to change the system that facilitates it.”
Major points from the survey:
Asked to indicate the degree of change over the past three years, the overall view of citizens in 48 countries out of 69 is that corruption has increased.
In six countries, citizens’ views overall are that corruption declined over that period: Colombia, Georgia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Kenya and Singapore.
In 13 countries – Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Israel, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines and Venezuela – more than 50 percent of those responding feel that corruption increased a lot.
Africans and Latin Americans are the most negative about the past.
In 12 countries, respondents overall expect corruption to decline, with Indonesians being the most optimistic (63% expecting corruption to decrease a lot).
The most optimistic countries according to the survey are: Indonesia, Kosovo, Nigeria and Uruguay.
In 34 countries respondents are clearly pessimistic about the future for corruption levels.
The most pessimistic countries are: Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Nicaragua and Philippines.
From a regional perspective, Africa stands out as a region of relative optimism. Of the eight African countries covered in the Barometer, five take an optimistic view, especially Nigeria and Ethiopia, where about half the respondents feel that corruption will decrease in the next three years.
In the United States and in Germany, 65 and 66 percent respectively of those surveyed believe corruption has worsened in the past three years, and 56 and 57 percent respectively expect this to continue.
You can take a look at Global Corruption Barometer 2005 for further information.
I admire the work TI do in raising the issue of corruption and providing tools to combat it. I’m not so sure about the ‘perception’ concept, though it is a difficult area to pin down to pure, evidence based data.
My research indicates an unacceptably high level of public corruption in the developed economies, but the nature of public perception would tell us another story. I expect this disparity has a lot to do with a greater sophistication in methods of corruption.
At the same time, the more ‘sophisticated’ public seems to more easily justify or ignore the excesses of their public sectors, while countries struggling with a whole range of development issues carry the can.
How good are your police agencies?
The 2005 world barometer of most corrupt institutions shows that the Cameroon police force is the most corrupt institution in the world. The ranking by Transparency International, TI, published on Friday, December 9, shows three other countries namely: Nigeria, Ghana and India on a bracket score of 4.7 on 10 respectively.
The world survey on most corrupt monitored thirteen institutions in 36 countries, where corruption thrives. These institutions include; political parties, parliament, the police, the judiciary, administration, private sector, customs, medical services, the media, education, public service, army, NGOs, state corporations and religious organisations.
While the police occupied the first position in Cameroon, and in the world, they are closely followed by customs, the judiciary and the Cameroon administration, none obtaining less than 4 on 10 score. The least corrupt in Cameroon are religious organisations that scored 2.0. The media scored 2.9.
Okay, so a scan of news stories on Google (search: police scandal) turns up this lot:
East St. Louis: This city's former police chief engaged in "old-fashioned corruption" when he tried to shield a volunteer officer from possible deportation, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday.
"The tale of corruption you're going to hear in this case reaches to the highest level of East St. Louis" government, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith said in opening statements at the trial of former police chief Ron Matthews.
San Francisco police investigating what top city officials portray as racist and sexist videos produced by Bayview District officers said Thursday that new clips had come to light -- including an image of a black officer eating from a dog bowl and one of an Asian officer having difficulty riding a bicycle.
The Louisville metro government will pay $30,000 to settle a pair of lawsuits involving two former narcotics detectives accused of falsifying warrants and using them to search people's homes
Florida: A Broward sheriff's deputy is expected to plead guilty Wednesday to charges he fabricated confessions, including pinning one burglary on a dead man and others on a guy who was in jail when the crimes occurred.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigators turned over the results of a 19-month investigation into the Edmonton Police Service photo radar scandal to special prosecutors with Alberta Justice Criminal Special Prosecutions. Justice officials will consider whether criminal charges are warranted in a case involving a no-bid contract and a $400,000 police slush fund.
South African editors have sent a strongly worded lawyer's letter to police commissioner Jackie Selebi, giving him a week to act against senior officers who illegally blocked reporters covering former deputy president Jacob Zuma's rape-charge court appearance last week, or face possible further legal action.
Korea: The prosecution's arrest yesterday of a senior police officer in connection with a lobbying scandal triggered strong protests from the nation's police force.
Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian authorities said yesterday they had identified a Chinese woman who was forced to strip and perform squats in police custody, but sought to keep her name a secret.
It seems wherever there is delegated authority you can expect to find corruption, and not just in developing countries.
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