Ethics in Criminal Justice - Essay Example

Due Corruption in Politics When the average person thinks of corruption they equate it to something that involves a system being misused from the inside. If you ask people who are most likely to commit some kind of corrupt behavior, they would likely tell you lawyers and politicians. That said it is not terribly surprising that corruption exists in government. Rod R. Blagojevich was a lawyer, lawmaker, and former governor of the state of Illinois. In 2008, Blagojevich, shortly after the election of Barack Obama as President, he was accused of selling the Senate seat that was previously held by, now President, Obama.

Blagojevich was, ultimately, found guilty of nearly 20 different counts of soliciting bribes, conspiracy to illicit and accept bribes, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit extortion, and attempted extortion.(Davey, and Emma G. Fitzsimmons ) But why does it exist? What causes people within politics to attempt such acts? What can be done to deter and prevent it? In order to get the answers to these questions it is necessary to understand more about corruption in government. Political corruption has a very strict definition, in that it involves political decision makers at high levels of the political system.

When the people who are charged with the responsibility of making and upholding the laws are the very people who are corrupt, that is political corruption. It is widely accepted that corruption and the temptation to commit it is highly dependent on a person’s ability to believe they can successfully “get away with it.” The act of bribery, extortion, selling votes, accepting gifts and kickbacks are all reprehensible behaviors that can undermine the people’s faith in their elected officials.

The overall cost of corruption is, also, rather high, and manifest in three typical ways. The first is, is the funds required to finance the bribes to get the favorable treatment , financing meetings, maintaining silence, and negotiating all add cost to whatever endeavor the involved group are attempting to illicit. The second, corruption can undermine the efficiency of the free market. Lastly, it can misrepresent resources towards the projects that generate “payoffs.”(Lanza, 2004) There are two ways that are encouraged to help curtail and deter corruption.

The first is eliminating opportunity. Much in the way businesses are working harder and harder to fortify their companies from potential fraud. They structure their company to make the likelihood of successfully succeeding in committing fraud more and more risky to attempt. This in and of itself is a rather efficient determent. Many political cases of corruption are more difficult to detect because it is being committed by someone in power. Like Blagojevich, as a Governor, is in his position that has a greater amount of opportunity and less monitoring of his actions to contend with.

This in mind, many researchers believe that it is the institution of democracy that fundamentally helps to discourage and disallow the potential for corruption. “The argument is that economic and political competition, transparency and accountability, coupled with the democratic principles of checks and balances, are necessary deterrence instruments.”(Amundsen ) The United States Department of Ethics has established the U.S. Standards of Conduct which are applied to all government employees.

There are fourteen principles of ethical conduct and they cover everything from discrimination, to using public office for personal gain: from conflicts of interest to general ethical behaviors. ("U.s. government ethics," 2012) These rules have adapted over time and are intended to cover all the issues that continue to arise. In conclusion, it is likely that political corruption will never be entirely eliminated. As long as there are individuals in power that for reasons of arrogance, ambition, or greed then corruption will continue to exist.. However, stronger efforts are being made to deter it and limit its occurrences, as well as, make the penalties for the commission these acts far more severe.

Between the implementation of stricter regulations upon the activities of politicians, the presence of democracy, and greater determents taken to drastically reduce the opportunity for individuals to commit such acts, perhaps there is a greater chance of decreasing the corruption before it is ever committed ReferencesAmundsen , I. (n.d.). Political corruption: An introduction to the issues. Retrieved from http://www.consocial.cgu.gov.br/uploads/biblioteca_arquivos/122/arquivo_05f01e79ad.pdfDavey, Monica, and Emma G.

Fitzsimmons. "Jury Finds Blagojevich Guilty of Corruption." New York Times 27 Jun 2011, n. pag. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. .Lanza, Steven P. "The Conneticut Economy Quarterly." Conneticut Economy Quarterly. Winter (2004): 1-7. Web. 24 Oct. 2012 .U.s. government ethics standards. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.wright.edu/rsp/Security/Ethics/Intro.htm