NCJ Number
177324
Journal
African Security Review Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: 1998 Pages: 3-21
Date Published
1998
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This is the second of a two-part series on defining and identifying police corruption in South Africa.
Abstract
In the first article (see NCJ-177323), some of the major issues of "police corruption" were explored, and a working definition of the term was presented: "Any illegal conduct or misconduct involving the use of occupational power for personal, group or organizational gain." Thus, to be considered corrupt, an act must violate South African criminal or civil law or qualify as misconduct under either the South African Police Service or traffic officers' regulations. This second part of the article examines some of the implications of using this definition. First, the working definition is used as a basis to outline and distinguish between various forms of police corruption. Various kinds of corruption are discussed and some examples presented. Next, the authors identify practices that are not regarded as corrupt, but are either criminal, examples of misconduct, or simply problematic; reasons are given for their being excluded from the concept of "police corruption." A consideration of the often small variations in the causes or ramifications of some of the aforementioned practices, when compared to those that are regarded as corrupt, indicate the links between police corruption and other forms of behavior. The discussion highlights some of the key issues that stem from the limitations of using any one definition of police corruption exclusively. 7 tables and 56 notes