In its entirety, the U.S. government is one of the least corrupt governments in the world. We have the freedom to do what we please and, for the most part, we can trust government officials to be fair and judicious. No government, however, is free from all bad apples, and there have been numerous cases of government corruption in America.
By definition, government corruption involves the abuse of power by a government agent or agency. It can occur on a small scale – such as with a suspect or a witness – or on a much larger scale, such as with fraud or money laundering. You can find government corruption in a local police department or as high up as the Defense Security Agency (DSA) or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The most common types of government corruption involve political bribery, embezzlement and fraud.
The positive thing about government corruption in the United States is that, once it is discovered, the proper authorities are obligated to take care of the situation. Government officials can be convicted of crimes just as easily as private citizens, even with the politics and beauracracies that get involved. When a government agency or agent is accused of corruption, it is usually a high-profile case.
As far as normal, every day citizens go, the most poignant of government corruption involves the abuse of power by police officers and detectives. It is a well-known fact that many officers of the law suffer from “power trips” which lead them to exercise their power in ways that are unbecoming of a police officer. They can abuse those powers in a number of ways at the expense of citizens who haven’t done anything wrong.
Fortunately, however, there are avenues of recourse that private citizens can take to battle government corruption. Federal agencies such as the FBI take complaints from citizens every day, some of which are legitimate, while others are exaggerated or ficticious. It is important for citizens to stand up for their rights and to fight government corruption when it surfaces.
Government corruption becomes an even larger problem when the suspect of a crime is victimized by law enforcement. When you are caught in the middle of a criminal act – whether you did it or not – it is significantly harder to find allies within the justice system. At that point, you need a qualified and aggressive attorney who can go to bat for you against whatever injustices you might have encountered.
Government curruption can also take place on an international scale. When a government official from one country defrauds or extorts an official from another country, the public loses faith in the government itself, which can lead to virtual chaos. Further, government corruption can be used as a political tool by one political party. Digging up indiscretions about politicians and airing them to the public is one way to ensure a political party’s dominance in the government.
If you are a victim of government corruption or if you know that government corruption is going on, the best thing you can do is report it to the proper authorities or retain legal counsel for advice.
