This study examined how police officers in Bosnia and Herzegovina perceived the level of police corruption, the segment of policing they perceived as most corrupt, and the factors that influenced their perception of corruption.
The police did not perceive the police subculture as corrupt as other fields of social/economic activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The means score of corruption among police, however, was approximately two and one-half out of a maximum of five, which is far from satisfactory. Traffic police in cities and traffic police on the highway were rated as the first and third most corrupt units within the police. Patrol officers were ranked 10th and criminal investigation officers were ranked 8th. Younger respondents were apparently less certain of police integrity than their older colleagues. Previous experiences with corruption in the police organization also influenced perceptions of corruption. Descriptive statistics and stepwise regression analysis relied on survey data collected during 2005 and 2006 as part of a larger study of police corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Specially designed questionnaires were administered to 742 respondents from 13 law enforcement agencies that were representative of the national distribution of police forces. 6 tables and 25 references