Adam Graycar and Adam B. Masters
Corruption undermines good governance. Strategies for preventing malfeasance in low-corruption environments require a different approach to that applied in high-corruption…
Abstract
Purpose
Corruption undermines good governance. Strategies for preventing malfeasance in low-corruption environments require a different approach to that applied in high-corruption environments. This paper aims to ask if criminological theories and practice contribute to the study and prevention of corruption in public organizations? Do crime prevention techniques help us in preventing corruption?
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data demonstrate that the overwhelming majority of public officials in rich countries demonstrate high levels of integrity; yet, significant sums are invested in anti-corruption agencies and prevention strategies. This paper reports on recent work with an anti-corruption agency, which forced us to re-think how to deliver an anti-corruption agenda in a low-corruption environment. The authors build on their research of public sector corruption in rich countries to develop a set of 20 situational corruption prevention measures for public administrators.
Findings
The result, with lessons from crime prevention, is a prevention tool to support continued good governance in low-corruption environments. Figure 1 is a template that readers can apply in their own environments. Figure 2 is the authors’ attempt to populate this template based on the research reported here.
Originality/value
The matrix of situational corruption prevention techniques provides two original approaches. First, it recasts the language of crime prevention into a non-confrontational approach to avoid alienating honest public officials. Second, the matrix incorporates common public sector functions to guide the development of context specific corruption prevention techniques.
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This paper aims to focus on understanding and preventing corruption in procurement in public sector settings. Just as not all corruption is the same, not all procurement is the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on understanding and preventing corruption in procurement in public sector settings. Just as not all corruption is the same, not all procurement is the same. One purpose is to analyze different types of procurements: standard, customized, intangible and complex. Corruption in procurement undermines public administration, and the purpose of this paper is to identify different types of procurements and provide readers with a framework for analysis and subsequent intervention.
Design/methodology/approach
In all, 42 actual cases of public sector corruption in procurement are examined, and from these, an analytical matrix is developed. These cases are derived from the reports of the New South Wales (Australia) Independent Commission against Corruption. These cases represent all of the procurement cases that the ICAC has taken to a formal hearing in its 30 years of existence.
Findings
While fraud is a major feature of corruption in procurement, there are significant organizational facilitators, and a number of slippage points in organizations are identified. These include peer culture, lack of due process, temptation and managerial incompetence/willful disregard, and these are built into a matrix which can be used in different countries or settings by readers wishing to understand and prevent different types of corruption in procurement in their agencies.
Originality/value
This paper uses cases that have not previously been aggregated or analyzed and provides analytical tools for practitioners and academics.
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Peter John Lenz and Adam Graycar
The purpose of this paper is to discover organisational governance lessons that emerge from the unique facts and characteristics of one significant corporate fraud in Australia.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discover organisational governance lessons that emerge from the unique facts and characteristics of one significant corporate fraud in Australia.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were triangulated between a primary loss adjustment file with multiple commercial and legal secondary sources. The data were analysed and conclusions were inductively drawn as part of a master’s degree research project.
Findings
White-collar crime takes many forms but it is rare for a medium-sized ASX listed company to be defrauded of Aus$22 m without anybody noticing. Narrative findings reveal the dynamics of the fraud and the weaknesses in corporate governance. This paper outlines the processes of detection and control. It provides several lessons for organisational governance that could prevent similar occupational frauds in the future.
Research limitation/implications
This unique fraud case has facts which are not necessarily typical of fraud in general. Anonymity in the case seeks to preserve the identities of the parties, but may in fact limit the potential for transparent discussion.
Social implications
While detecting and investigating occupational fraud has benefits for practitioners and commentators, there are extensive direct and indirect social costs associated with this case.
Originality/value
The value of this case lies in revealing details of how a significant fraud was perpetrated so that fraud investigators, accountancy professionals, academics and students can benefit from lessons learned.
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Three reasons exist for undertaking a comparative study of social policy: there is no other way of evaluating and increasing understanding of social policies; through its study, a…
Abstract
Three reasons exist for undertaking a comparative study of social policy: there is no other way of evaluating and increasing understanding of social policies; through its study, a wide range of policy options for tackling particular problems become known and understood; policy makers can learn lessons from others' experience with particular policies. Conceptual and methodological issues raised by comparative study are briefly studied. All study is in fact comparative. As a field of study becomes more theoretically explicit and sophisticated it becomes more explicit and self‐conscious about some important comparisons. The development of comparative social policy indicates a growing theoretical awareness of the need for certain types of important comparisons. In time it is expected to disappear as a separately designated aspect of “the study of social policy”. The study of the field of social policy brings the kind of knowledge produced by the so‐called social sciences into sharp relief.
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It is generally held that the educational programmes of any higher educational institution, i.e. what is taught and how it is taught, are determined by those in the educational…
Abstract
It is generally held that the educational programmes of any higher educational institution, i.e. what is taught and how it is taught, are determined by those in the educational institutions. In this paper the notion of autonomy is examined and a distinction is made between “subjective” and “objective” notions of academic freedom. A sample of academics in professional schools in a university and a college of advanced education was interviewed and their perceptions of their autonomy are discussed.
Adam Graycar and Aiden Sidebottom
Corruption is a significant financial crime which is estimated by the World Economic Forum to cost about 5 per cent of global GDP or $2.6 trillion dollars. Explanations of…
Abstract
Purpose
Corruption is a significant financial crime which is estimated by the World Economic Forum to cost about 5 per cent of global GDP or $2.6 trillion dollars. Explanations of corruption, like explanations of crime, tend to focus on the individuals who commit corruption and the wider conditions which give rise to corrupt behaviour. Approaches designed to reduce corruption usually propose stiffer sanctions, institutional reforms and the passing of new laws. The purpose of this paper is to outline a complementary perspective with which to consider corruption.
Design/methodology/approach
Grounded in situational crime prevention and related criminological theory, the paper argues that opportunities in the immediate environment play a causal role in generating corruption. It proposes that corruption can be minimised by removing or reducing opportunities which are conducive to corrupt behaviour. In total, five cases are chosen as illustrative examples of how situational crime prevention might usefully be applied to corruption, focussing on the Type, Activities, Sectors and Places (TASP) that comprise corruption events.
Findings
A framework is developed for the empirical study of corruption in local settings.
Originality/value
The paper explores how situational crime prevention can usefully inform the analysis and prevention of corruption.
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Tim Prenzler, Tyler Cawthray, Louise E. Porter and Geoffrey P. Alpert
From 2002 to 2014, the Portland Police Bureau reported large reductions in complaints against officers and use of force indicators. The purpose of this paper is to develop a case…
Abstract
Purpose
From 2002 to 2014, the Portland Police Bureau reported large reductions in complaints against officers and use of force indicators. The purpose of this paper is to develop a case study to document these changes and explore possible influences.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper maps the changes in conduct indicators against the developing relationship between the Bureau and the Portland Independent Police Review Division, and changes in policies and procedures.
Findings
Public complaints reduced by 54.4 per cent, while the rate of specific allegations per officer fell by 70.1 per cent. Quarterly use of force incident reports were reduced by 65.4 per cent between 2008 and 2014. Annual average shootings decreased from a high of nine per year across 1997-2002 to just below four per year in 2009-2014. Fatal shootings also trended downward but remained two per year in the last three years on record. Reforms instituted during this period that may have influenced these trends include a more rigorous complaints process, an early intervention system (EIS), enhanced external and internal review mechanisms, policy changes and training initiatives.
Research limitations/implications
The researchers were unable to control for a range of additional variables that may have influenced the findings, including police deployments and changes in officer demographics.
Practical implications
The study provides support for strategies to improve police conduct including external oversight, diagnostic research, training focussed on de-escalation and minimal force, and complaint profiling and EISs.
Originality/value
There are very few studies available showing large long-term reductions in adverse police conduct indicators.
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Though many articles have been produced warning people of the inherent dangers of responding to this fraud, very little work has been done on the impact of the advance fee fraud…
Abstract
Purpose
Though many articles have been produced warning people of the inherent dangers of responding to this fraud, very little work has been done on the impact of the advance fee fraud on investment and overall economic development of countries in sub‐Saharan Africa. This paper aims to examine the nature and causes of the Nigerian “419” fraud.
Design/methodology/approach
Besides, underscoring the role of the political and historical situation of the sub‐region in exacerbating the fraud, the paper situates the discussion within the broader context of organized crimes perpetuated by Africans in Africa or elsewhere in the world.
Findings
A relationship exists between crime rate and development and thus there is a need for transnational collaborative efforts in controlling and preventing these crimes. However, the gap between the economic fundamentals and investor confidence is puzzling.
Originality/value
The paper examines the link between perception of crime in Nigeria and Africa as a whole and the rate of investment flow to the continent.
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Hendi Yogi Prabowo, Kathie Cooper, Jaka Sriyana and Muhammad Syamsudin
Based on the authors’ study, the purpose of this paper is to ascertain the best approach to mitigate corruption in the Indonesian public sector. To do so, the paper uses three…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the authors’ study, the purpose of this paper is to ascertain the best approach to mitigate corruption in the Indonesian public sector. To do so, the paper uses three behavioral perspectives: the Schemata Theory, the Corruption Normalization Theory and the Moral Development Theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is part of the authors’ study to examine corruption patterns in Indonesia in the past 10 years through examination of reports from various institutions as well as other relevant documents addresses corruption-related issues to explore various options for mitigating corruption through behavioral re-engineering. For the purpose of gaining various perspectives on anti-corruption measures, this study also uses expert interviews and focus group discussions with relevant experts in Indonesia and Australia on various corruption-related issues.
Findings
The authors establish that despite the fall of the New Order regime nearly two decades ago, corruption remains entrenched within the post-Suharto Governments. The normalized corruption in Indonesia is a legacy of the New Order regime that shaped societal, organizational and individual schemata in Indonesia. The patrimonial style of leadership in particular within the regional governments resulted in increasing rent-seeking activities within the decentralized system. The leadership style is also believed to have been supporting the normalization of corruption within the public sector since the New Order era. The three-decade-old systematic normalization of corruption in the Indonesian public sector can only be changed by means of long and systematic de-normalization initiatives. To design the best intervention measures, decision makers must first identify multiple factors that constitute the three normalization pillars: institutionalization, rationalization and normalization. Measures such as periodical reviews of operational procedures, appointment of leaders with sound morality, anti-corruption education programs, administering “cultural shocks”, just to name a few, can be part of multifaceted strategies to bring down the normalization pillars.
Research limitations/implications
The discussion on the options for de-normalization of corruption in Indonesia is focused on corruption within the Indonesian public institutions by interviewing anti-fraud professionals and scholars. A better formulation of strategic approaches can be developed by means of interviews with incarcerated corruption offenders from the Indonesian public institutions.
Practical implications
This paper contributes to the development of corruption eradication strategy by suggesting options for de-normalizing corruption in the Indonesian public sector so that resources can be allocated more effectively and efficiently to mitigate the problem.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the importance of behavior-oriented approaches in mitigating corruption in the Indonesian public sector.
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The Framers of the Constitution granted Congress the ability to punish members for misconduct to protect the institution's integrity and dignity. However, with the low approval…
Abstract
The Framers of the Constitution granted Congress the ability to punish members for misconduct to protect the institution's integrity and dignity. However, with the low approval ratings of Congress and the widespread belief that those in government are corrupt, the institution has not done an excellent job at protecting its integrity. This chapter examines all allegations investigated by the House and Senate Ethics Committees to determine if Congress has systematically punished misconduct among members. Using data on 396 misconduct investigations in Congress, this research examines the institution's likelihood of punishing a member before and after implementing permanent ethics committees in the 90th Congress. The study reveals that Congress was more likely to systematically punish members for ethical misconduct before permanently installing ethics committees. However, in the contemporary period, the only type of misconduct a member is likely to be punished for is sexual harassment. Yet, the likelihood of being punished for sexual harassment falls when a member resigns or strategically retires.