There is a widespread perception that the authority vested in institutions that ought to represent the public interest is, in fact, being abused for private gain.
That is, according to the Global Corruption Barometer 2006, the annual study by Transparency International (TI).
It suggests that bribes are most commonly paid around the world to the police, and are substantially more frequent than to other services. This result presents enormous concerns regarding corruption in processes of law enforcement, particularly when viewed alongside the sector identified as the third most common recipient of bribes: the legal system and judiciary.
In contrast to the situation in the African countries polled, the reported experience of
bribery in the EU grouping and North America is relatively low, with less than one in 30 respondents who had contact with public institutions having paid a bribe in North America and less than one in 20 in the EU. This experience of little or no bribery in daily life activities continues to stand in contrast to the perception of corruption in these regions, where respondents report that corruption severely affects key sectors and spheres of life.
Download the full, 29-page report:
