Awareness of Corruption in the Community and Public Service: a Victorian Study

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Date
2014-06-23
Authors
Graycar, Adam
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Rights
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Rights Holder
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Abstract
Corruption hurts the public and undermines government. This study of perceptions of corruption in Victoria shows that the community believes corruption is on the increase, yet this view is not shared by public servants. In general corruption is not on the radar of senior Victorian public servants. There are more perceptions of corruption in line agencies than in central agencies. Behaviours most commonly suspected and observed were hiring family and friends, conflict of interest, abuse of discretion and abuse of information. One- third of public servants surveyed thought there were opportunities for bribery, yet only 4% had suspected bribery and less than one per cent had personally observed it. Almost half do not believe they would be protected from victimisation should they report corruption. The data reported here poses challenges in thinking about corruption when devising integrity standards in the public service.
Description
This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving'. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Corruption, Public administration, perceptions of corruption
Citation
Graycar, Adam. (2014), Awareness of Corruption in the Community and Public Service: a Victorian Study. Australian Journal of Public Administration, vol. 73 (2), 271-281 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12081