Dispatch

AD56: Police corruption in Africa undermines trust, but support for law enforcement remains strong

Pauline M. Wambua 2 Nov 2015

According to the 2013 Global Corruption Report by Transparency International (TI), the police are perceived as the most corrupt institution in Africa. Of 36 countries worldwide where police are seen as the most corrupt institution, 20 are in Africa. According to the report, the police are the most often bribed institution, followed by the judiciary; 31% of people who came into contact with the police report having paid a bribe. Bribery rates of the police were 75% or higher in seven countries, including six African countries.
Such negative perceptions of police integrity are damaging to the credibility and
effectiveness of the agency charged with protecting the lives and property of citizens. As Kumssa (2015) observes, police corruption undermines public trust in the institution and impairs effective enforcement of the law. While the TI report is loud and clear, it does not address how public perceptions of police corruption relate to citizens’ trust in the police, support for the police mandate to makepeople obey the law, and crime victims’ decision on whether to report crime. This paper
adds the voices of ordinary Africans on these issues, as well as on citizens’ first-hand experience of bribing the police, using Afrobarometer surveys carried out in 34 African countries between 2002 and 2013.

Key findings

Across the 34 countries surveyed by Afrobarometer, the police are perceived as the most corrupt public institution; on average, 42% of citizens say “most” or “all” police are corrupt.
Only about half (53%) of citizens say they trust the police “somewhat” or “a lot.” In the 18 countries tracked since 2005, trust in the police has decreased from 58% in 2005/2006 to 54% in 2011-2013.
As perceptions of corruption among police have increased, people’s trust in the police has decreased.
Despite these trends, support for the police mandate to make people obey the law has increased across the 16 countries tracked since 2002/2003, from 73% to 79% in 2011/2013.
Among the 16 countries tracked since 2002/2003, Zambia is the only country where trust in the police and support for the police mandate have increased while perceived police corruption and the reported payment of bribes to police have decreased.

Such negative perceptions of police integrity are damaging to the credibility and effectiveness of the agency charged with protecting the lives and property of citizens. As Kumssa (2015) observes, police corruption undermines public trust in the institution and impairs effective enforcement of the law.

While the TI report is loud and clear, it does not address how public perceptions of police corruption relate to citizens’ trust in the police, support for the police mandate to make people obey the law, and crime victims’ decision on whether to report crime. This paper adds the voices of ordinary Africans on these issues, as well as on citizens’ first-hand experience of bribing the police, using Afrobarometer surveys carried out in 34 African countries between 2002 and 2013.

Graph: Perceptions of corruption across institutions | 34 countries | 2011/2013

Pauline M. Wambua

Language

English

Topics

Institutions, leadership, and governance

Keywords

Corruption