Police officers’ assessments of factors that contribute to police corruption in Ghana

Purpose Police corruption – the use or misuse of entrusted power for personal, institutional or third-party advantage – is widespread in emerging economies. Encounters with justice officials in developing nations often involve the payment of bribes, which undermines justice delivery and impedes socioeconomic development. Efforts to tackle or address corruption are usually complex due to the secretive nature of corruption, its perceived benefit to both victims and perpetrators and a lack of consensus on the causes. This article investigates the causes of police corruption from the viewpoint of Ghanaian police officers. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on data from a survey of police officers across three regions in Ghana. Descriptive, correlational and linear regression analyses are used to address the issues. Findings The results show that factors contributing to police corruption are classified into financial, cultural, institutional and oversight/guidance. We found that police officers’ consideration of a factor as a cause of police corruption is influenced by their perceptions of other factors as causes of corruption. Practical implications The results show that corruption causes should not be tackled in isolation as they depend on each other. This suggests that a holistic approach needs to be taken when developing strategies to address the causes of police corruption. Originality/value This paper contributes to the debate on the causes of police corruption from an African perspective, where there is little quantitative research exploring the causes of police corruption. Control variables do not impact officers’ perceptions of causes of corruption, which contradicts previous studies and contributes to the debate, literature and theory development.