Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 06/2009

Police Corruption, Crime and Crime Reporting: A Simultaneous Equations Approach

Omar Azfar, Tugrul Gurgur

September 2008

Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

Abstract

One of the central roles of government is the protection of the person and the property of its citizens. In addition to the large direct effect on welfare when citizens fear being victimized, there is also an impact on income if crime has a negative impact on social order, stability and commerce. Researchers have explained the variation of crime rates across countries by social, cultural, and economic factors. In this paper we aim to contribute to this line of research by investigating the causal links between police corruption, crime and crime reporting. We find that crime rates, crime reporting, and police corruption jointly determine each other. There are several interactions: Crime reporting declines with police corruption and crime rates. The clearest of these is that police corruption decreases with crime reporting.