Cj340 Corruption

Corruption

William Robertson

CJ340: Applied Criminal Justice Ethics

Professor Lance Oakland

Kaplan University

April 2, 2014

Corruption is defined as the use of an official position, rank or status by an office bearer for his own personal gain (Myint, 2000). Corruption involves the use of two parties to exploit the public for their own benefit. Individuals involved in corruption are making profits on the backs of the public. Corruption is a worldwide issue that affects everyone from the lowest levels of economy to the highest. Most forms of corruption are based on needs or greed. For example, a police officer receiving a certain amount of money from a known drug dealer to turn his head and let the dealer keep dealing. This does two things, it benefits the drug dealer and the officer with monetary value, but it also allows for crime to continue in a certain neighborhood in which the officer is supposed to protect.

I would have to disagree with the claim that corruption is a western concept and it is not applicable to traditional societies. As stated before, corruption is a worldwide problem. Having corruption become a part of public and private sectors as well as governments restricts the ability for a countries economy to flourish. This intern keeps a country in a state that cannot gain economic status. “Gift giving” cultures create the persona that you need to give lavishly to maintain your status. Meaning, the bigger and more expensive the gift the more favorable the outcome results for you.

We, as a society within the United States feel that giving “kickbacks” or gifts for favors among high ranking political officials is a form of corruption. While in other countries, it’s your duty and responsibility as a political figure to provide gifts of high monetary value. The higher you are in the political food chain, the more expensive the gift you are supposed to provide (Myint, 2000). Since the gifts can become extremely expensive, it causes the...