Example Of Organized Crime And Corruption Essay

Corruption can be generally defined as the abuse of power, office or authority in pursuit of personal gain. Corruption is an endemic and pervasive issue in most third-world countries, where it can be seen as a feature of governance. Corruption mostly plagues the public sector and civil service of countries. It could be argued, as a result of corruption being observed only in the public sector and civil service, that corruption flourishes in the absence of control mechanisms in the legislature of a country. All levels of governance are affected by corruption in such cases, and efforts to curb or fight corruption are hampered (and mostly successfully crippled) due to efforts by the elite to maintain the status quo. Efforts to fight corruption are also hampered by the inertia caused by high tolerance and resignation by the general populace to the problem.
Corruption may be employed as a tool to amass and retain the approval of leaders at lower levels of government, especially in dictatorships and quasi-democratic governments. Due to the pervasive nature of corruption, lobbyists and political reformists receive little sympathy and are often unsuccessful in the face of the sheer resistance of a whole government. The complacency of the citizens does little to help curb corruption and bring about reform. Complacency further demoralizes efforts to fight corruption. Corruption leads to misuses of government resources by diverting government resources from intended or more critical sectors such as the health sector.
Reform might cause the destabilization of the government by breaking the network of mutual dependency and loyalty on which it is built. The chaos of instability is naturally resisted. In countries where generations have grown up around corrupt governance, there may not be an internal motive to curb corruption. Efforts to attack the problem of corruption legislatively are hampered by the legislature itself being corrupt, and thereby protecting its interests. The tax and customs agencies are usually the most corruptible and corruption-prone agencies in government. High-profile tax evasion is a white-collar crime that is prevalent in corrupt system.
International pressure to curb rampant corruption is mostly usually unsuccessful. International pressure is often in the form of withdrawal of donor funds, trade pacts, or business transactions. Anti-corruption agencies are shut down and dissolved following frustration and the sheer complexity, depth and reach of corruption in the system. Lack of openness to foreign investment and trade reduces international pressure for reform. Poverty and unemployment facilitate corruption due to readily available motive and an opportunity for corruption to shape the fabric of society itself. Corruption often occurs in conjunction with practices such as nepotism.
Democracy upholds unconditional human rights across all levels of society and status. Lack of complete democracy facilitates corruption because then the government is able to traverse human rights more readily, hence lobbyists can be jailed or otherwise harassed by the government itself. A strong, efficient and independent electoral system is critical in providing accountability in governance, and is hence a critical ingredient in efforts to curb corruption.
A free, efficient, accurate and independent public information system, mostly in the form of the media, also contributes to fighting corruption by informing the electorate of the reality. In most corrupt governments, even the media is often corrupt, whether in the public or private sector.
The organization and structure of criminal justice in a country may also provide a loophole for corruption to flourish. The efficiency and independence of the judiciary is critical for a strong (criminal) and effective justice system. Lack of (or little) economic freedom also facilitates corruption, because there would be more contact between tradesmen, bankers, investors, and government officials.
The openness of the banking system and strictness of financial regulations also contribute to the levels of corruption in a society. Since bribery is a major form of corruption, strict financial regulations may make it easier to provide evidence of bribery to forensic investigators, and also to detect cases of bribery. The efficiency of bureaucracy in the government may reduce a form of corruption motivated by the need to speed up administrative processes.
In addition to the above policies and efforts to fight corruption, civil involvement in governance and decision-making is paramount to bringing about social reform. Massive campaigns of public re-education might be necessary. Involvement and freedom of the media is also critical in the fight against organized corruption. A particularly understated tool in social and political reform is film and literature. Literature and film could be employed to sensitize the public of the effects of corruption, hence removing the complacency seen in the citizens of corrupt countries. Implementation of laws and regulations could get rid of the resignation of the citizens to corruption. High-profile prosecution and busts could be particularly effective in this case.
Promotion of democracy should also be part of the policy to fight corruption. Non-governmental agencies could also be instrumental in curbing corruption. Addressing socio-economic inequality is also important for public confidence in government agencies and institutions. Since corruption thrives where the government is rendered unable to do its work, solid institutional capacities are crucial in the fight against corruption. Regulating financial markets globally should also be implemented to prevent money laundering. Cooperation between countries to prevent smuggling and other cross-border (organized) criminal activities also help to curb corruption.
A key part of fighting corruption is defeating the motives and motivations that may be against the need for reform. Motivations against reform should not provide resistance once the impetus for reform is available. Action to bring about reform must be quick and decisive to prevent regression back to status quo. In the end, institutions need to be created to manage the fight against corruption, such as anti-corruption police units or an anti-corruption government agency. A window of opportunity for the implementation of reform may be during periods of high social tension, such as those caused by high socio-economic inequality.
Ultimately, reducing poverty, socio-economic inequality, and unemployment should be a goal to help in the fight against corruption. Unfortunately, corruption is extremely detrimental to a country’s development. Therefore corruption, socio-economic inequality and poverty are issues that should be tackled concurrently. International cooperation is essential to curb corruption at a global level. International pressure, though not enough to finish off corruption, should also be increased. It makes little sense to donate funds to a country, only to have the money aggravate the country’s socio-economic inequality and ultimately inhibit the economic prosperity of the country. Donor funds should therefore be withheld until the country proves itself rid of corruption. Any anti-corruption reform must transform the political culture of a country sufficiently to promote economic development, democracy, human rights, accountability and government transparency.