CORRUPTION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
OFFICIALS
Bruce L. Benson
Introduction
Even a very limited sampling of headlines from news magazines
over the last several years about instances of corruption by police,
prosecutors, andjudges illustrates the magnitude of corruption among
law enforcement officials. For example: “A True Prince of the City:
In Chicago, ACop Goes Underground toCrack a Police Dope Ring”
(Time, 26 July 1982, p. 17); “Corruption Is Still a Fact of Life” (U.S.
News & World Report, November 1982, p. 46); “The Trouble with
Harry: AFederal Judge Goes on Trial in Nevada on BriberyCharges”
(Time, 2 April 1984, p. 64); “The Real Miami Vice?” (Newsweek, 11
November 1985, p. 32); and “Passing Judgment on the Judges: A
Spate of Legal Troubles in the Judiciary” (Time, 20 January 1986,
p. 66). This list only touches the surface; after all, these are only
some of the officials who got caught. Even if a similar number of
crimes by public officials were cleared by arrest as crimes in general
(roughly 20 percent of reported crimes and perhaps less than 10
percent of all crimes), the total level of corruption would be substantial. But there are several reasons to believe that the crimes that
public officials commit are considerably less likely to be reported
(exposed) than private sector crime.
Corruption by law enforcement officials is actually a black market
for the property rights over which those officials have been given
Cato Journal, Vol. 8, No, 1 (Spring/Summer 1988). Copyright © Cato Institute. All
rights reserved.
The author is Professor of Economics at Florida State University. This paper draws
from his forthcoming book Liberty andJustice:Alternatives to Government Production
ofLawand Order, supported by the Pacific Institute for Public Policy Research.
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