An examination of police cadets’ perceptions of corruption

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine police cadets’ perceptions of the seriousness of police corruption. This study attempts to explore and delineate a variety of factors that may influence police cadets’ perceptions about some basic types of corruption. A comparison between future supervisors’ and line officers’ perceptions of specific aspects of corruption is lacking. A quantitative research design was used for data collection. The results of this study indicated that there were significant differences in police cadets’ perceptions of the seriousness of corruption based on their parents’ education level, occupation, and income. In addition, the findings revealed that cadets’ sociodemographic background, such as parents’ education level and type of occupation, as well as the cadet’s organizational affiliations, such as their respective police training school, had significant effects on their perceptions of seriousness involving corruption scenarios. This study provided important and useful information for policy-makers and leadership cadres responsible for police training.

Keywords

Police cadets corruption perceptions of seriousness police integrity Turkey

Introduction

Corruption has been a part of society since the beginning of known history. It has been a subject of inquiry for a wide range of disciplines. Despite a tremendous amount of accumulated scholarship, corruption as a phenomenon still generates heated debate (Bucak, 2012; Klockars and Kutnjak Ivković, 2004; Sarikaya, 2015). Likewise, police corruption remains one of the most contested topics in criminal justice literature. For instance, according to McElreath et al. (2013), police corruption has been one of the more important problems in the USA for a long time. Corruption also infects all levels of the American justice system (Punch, 2000, 2003). Transparency International (2010) confirmed that over 30 countries have suffered institutional police corruption at some point in their history.

A literature review presented considerable recent research on police corruption (Beck and Lee, 2002; Klockars et al., 2004; Quah, 2014; Wilson et al., 2008). There is no doubt that successful corruption control measures require solid academic research backed up by sound theoretical foundations (Klockars et al., 2000). Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to delineate between two police training organizations—a police academy and police vocational schools (PVS) —the antecedents of police cadets’ perceptions of petty corruption in terms of the seriousness of behavior involving hypothetical corruption scenarios. As an explanatory study examining Turkish police cadets’ perceptions, this paper promises a wealth of information for researchers aiming to address the question in their respective police training institutions.

The extant literature about police corruption draws attention to a variety of factors that affect police officers’ perceptions of this phenomenon. These factors can be termed recruitment and selection, formal training, and probation—in other words, the phases through which rookies become parts of the organization (Carter et al., 1989; Haberfeld, 2003; Kleinig, 1990; Lynch, 1976). Recruitment and selection practices in police organizations are important indicators of the diligence with which the organization aligns with societal demands. The success of police education and training programs concerning such merits empirical assessment. For example, assessment necessitates deciphering police cadets’ attitudes towards corruption, especially as corruption taints the image of the police.

This study aims to examine the attitudes of cadets toward a limited set of prevalent types of corruption involving police and some public institutions. It is exploratory in nature and is based on the theoretical framework of police integrity developed by Klockars and colleagues (1997, 2000, 2004). The study attempts to capture the perceptions of cadets who have yet to be formally exposed to active police duties. Given the general secrecy of police work and the limited opportunities cadets have to be involved in or witness such transactions, the current study focuses on instances of petty corruption reported to be most prevalent within Turkish social life and Turkish bureaucracy. Petty corruption was chosen as the survey topic to compensate for cadets’ lack of experience in encountering issues of corruption through actual police work; comparatively, petty corruption is a topic about which cadets may be reasonably expected to have formed perceptions.

Conceptual and theoretical background

The function of corruption is highly contested. Owing to the dynamic and mostly elusive nature of the term “corruption”, it is a challenge to group some acts or processes under clearly defined categories of corruption. The adopted point of reference and level of analysis play an important role in identifying the characteristics of the act or process in question.

The police occupy a distinct position among public institutions; they operate at a crossroads where they have the opportunity to serve as a hub for multiple layers of both public and private institutions. Such multidimensional linkages create a plethora of opportunities for the police to engage in legitimate as well as corrupt transactions.

Police corruption involves any proscribed act perpetrated by misuse of the officer’s official position for actual or expected material reward or gain (Barker, 1997; Barker and Roebuck, 1973). Based on their standpoint (e.g., ethical, moral, or legal), social scientists and practitioners alike use the concept to refer to a variety of activities, including: bribery; violence and brutality; fabrication and destruction of evidence; racism; and favoritism or nepotism (Newburn, 1999). As noted by Punch (2000), corruption has been referred to as a “container” concept used for a much wider range of police deviant behavior than traditional bribe-taking. All definitions of “corruption” cover some aspects of the phenomena. Thus, an ideal definition of “police corruption” should not be limited to the perpetration of specific acts, but should also include the process that results in achieving such ends and acknowledge the varying means, ends, and motives of corrupt activities (Newburn, 1999).

Categorization of police corruption is a contentious issue. Most disagreements arise from the challenge of classifying misconduct of all sorts perpetrated by the police in general. Depending on the scholar’s conceptualization of corruption, specific actions may shift categories from unethical behavior to misconduct, or from pure criminal activity to police corruption, for example.

The general framework adopted in this study relies on the theoretical principles of police integrity set by Klockars and Kutnjak Ivković (2004), and Klockars et al. (1997, 2001, 2004). These scholars define police integrity as “the normative inclination among police to resist temptations to abuse rights and privileges of their occupation” (Klockars et al., 1997, 2001, 2004, 2007). The theory of police integrity also refers to some basic tenets of organizational studies. More specifically, police integrity is associated with: (a) the quality of official rules and the manner in which they are made, communicated, and understood; (b) the quality of detection, investigation, and disciplinary actions undertaken by an agency; and (c) the ability to curtail the code of silence.

Police work, at least in developing countries, involves a very diverse environment ripe with individuals attempting to extract financial gain. Because different types of exchanges occur in different contexts, from fixing a ticket to being paid off by organized crime gangs, a meticulous differentiation of illicit financial gain is crucial for analyzing the root causes of a specific type of problem. Given the variety of acts and processes termed “police corruption”, corrective and preventive measures may change depending on a plethora of variables. Accordingly, the concept of this study is limited to instances that are described as petty corruption, including gratuities, free services, etc.

Scholars and practitioners alike propose several explanations to delineate the underpinnings of corruption. These propositions can be grouped into three broad categories: individual, institutional, and systemic explanations (Johnston, 1995). Literature dealing with an individual level of analysis focuses on police candidates, cadets, probationary officers and active officers, and their background characteristics, including their personality characteristics, socio-economic status (SES), and moral stance toward ethical or unethical instances relevant to police corruption (Beck and Lee, 2002; Chan et al., 2003). The individual approach attributes the causes of corruption to the individual and summarizes them in three major categories, namely, the rotten apple, recruitment, and police personality approaches (Banks, 2004).

In the past decade, corruption studies have attracted more interest, especially from an organizational perspective. Recent approaches relevant to studying police corruption have opened new avenues for the exploration of police attitudes toward corruption. Measurement of ethical boundaries, tolerance for corruption, types of corrupt behavior, and integrity level have become routine for practitioners in their attempts to reform a corrupt organization (Ivković, 2003). Most of the studies involve police officers’ perceptions of corruption and focus on organizational aspects of police work, such as length of service, size of the organization, rank, type of police work, and policing context (Klockars et al., 1997), as well as sociodemographic aspects of the study participants, such as race, gender, and educational level (Chan et al., 2003).

By contrast, societal-level explanations focus on forces beyond the control of the police. Some scholars attribute emergence of the problem of corruption to the moral pluralism that characterizes a diverse society with inherently conflicting interests (Johnston, 1995). In this vein, but more so in homogeneous societies, police departments are likely to reflect the general characteristics of the communities they police (Pollock, 2005). A cultural reluctance to react to corrupt transactions within a given community may encourage police officers to not enforce specific regulations and to take advantage of the state of the community.

Organizational and administrative aspects of the police academy and police vocational schools

The initial training phase for cadets is crucial in the formation of a relatively corruption-free police agency. The influence of education and training in instilling in cadets ethical police behavior depends heavily on the quality of recruitment and subsequent formal and informal training phases. Thus, this study involves one of the important socialization mechanisms of the police organization in which future police line officers and administrators are formally prepared to become a part of the criminal justice system.

The current study focuses on two educational institutions that provide Turkish National Police (TNP) with middle managers and no-rank police officers: the police academy and PVS. This study attempts to discover the perceptions of police academy and PVS cadets concerning petty corruption with respect to their sociodemographic background. Studying police cadets’ perceptions in centralized administrative structures offers an opportunity to make generalizations across similar institutions.

The police academy is one of main institutions affiliated directly with the central structure of the TNP. The academy is governed by a president, a high-ranking police director, for a (renewable) four-year term. The president reports to the director general of the TNP and is responsible for the overall functioning of the Faculty of Security Sciences, the Institute of Security Sciences, and 26 other PVSs. The president of the academy also reports to the Higher Education Board that supervises public and private universities in Turkey.

The police academy delivers five distinct police formation training programs, namely, pre-license training equivalent to a two-year associate college degree, a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, faculty and high-school training, and leadership training. The centralized nature of the training institutions enables the TNP to provide police cadets with relatively homogeneous training and education across classes (promotions). The curriculum of the academy, as well as the PVS, is simultaneously adapted according to changes in the law and procedures.

PVS are responsible for training future TNP line officers. The time frame for training in Turkish PVS became significantly longer than that in most Western countries in 2001 when the TNP changed the nine-month education phase to two years. Accordingly, former police schools have been transformed into PVS, which grant associate degrees. Strict discipline and rigorous formal education give administrators ample opportunities to indoctrinate cadets with the expectations of the occupation. Each year, 10,000 line officers graduate from 26 PVS throughout Turkey.

Societal and organizational factors affecting police cadets’ perceptions of petty corruption

In Turkey, the criminal justice science is still in its infancy. Although interest in this domain is increasing rapidly, it is very challenging for researchers to gain access to criminal justice institutions to conduct studies, particularly those involving sensitive topics that may harm the image of the organization. Because of the quasi-militaristic organizational structure of the police and its resulting secretive nature, empirical research dealing with sensitive topics such as corruption is almost non-existent. Existing studies conducted in the Turkish context have covered PVS and revealed some distinct sociodemographic characteristics of police cadets (Caglar, 1996; Cerrah, 1996). Likewise, police academy students and their background attributes are under-researched.

The Social Research Center’s (SAM) study findings emphasize that corruption in the Turkish context is a problem that has its roots primarily in society rather than in the public sector alone (Aközer, 2003). Additionally, the researchers drew attention to the potential influence of the social environment, such as family socio-economic and cultural characteristics (Caglar, 2004; Cerrah, 2008; Mutlu, 2000), on cadets’ perceptions of corruption within the police environment.

The SAM perception that petty corruption is prevalent in the public sector is supported by the public’s conformity to such traditions (Aközer, 2003). In particular, petty corruption such as regular bribes or paying money to escape speeding penalties, is perceived by 24.2% of study participants as at least partly acceptable. Perceptions varied as 24.9% of those who had no experience of working in the public sector felt this was acceptable, compared with 18.3% of those who did have experience of public sector employment. Similarly, the type of corruption is also a factor that influences the perception of seriousness among the public. Study participants classified types of corruption and perceived harm according to first and second degrees of importance.

In this study, petty corruption was grouped into two categories according to the terms used by Transparency International: in accordance with the rules (bribery to avoid a speeding penalty and bribery for doing something not against the law or regulations); or against the rules (when the public official accepts bribes in exchange for taking or not taking action in contradiction to what is required by law). The younger generation (18–24 years), with a ratio of 28.2%, seems more lenient in terms of tolerating petty corruption. According to SAM findings, an economic cause, such as lower salaries, is one of the factors that facilitate tolerating petty corruption (Aközer, 2003).

The prevalent values within a society are some of the major elements shaping individuals’ attitudes toward everyday life. Members of the police service who originate from the population which they serve are not exempt from these influences. Research findings reveal salient differences in the socio-economic background characteristics and cultural attributes of people relevant to their perception of corruption. Such differences create distinct categories within society so that members of specific classes or groups are distinguishable from other groups in terms of their perceptions of everyday corruption. For instance, Andreescu et al. (2012) examined future Romanian police officers’ perceptions of police misconduct. They found that female students in their final year of study at the Romanian Police Academy considered police misconduct more serious than did their male counterparts.

Most cadets interested in police work originate from middle-class or economically disadvantaged families (Caglar, 2004; Cerrah, 2008). For instance, Moon and Hwang (2004) showed that economic factors were most important for Korean police cadets when choosing a police job in South Korea. Therefore, police cadets from low-income families are expected to be influenced by this financial disadvantage in a way that reflects their perceptions of corruption.

Because of their quasi-militaristic nature, police organizations share specific characteristics with military organizations (Soeters, 2004). In studies in international settings, researchers found that members of these institutions. In studies involving international settings, researchers indicated that in such organizations, members of police and military institutions reflected the adopted professional norms in their daily lives to a significant degree (Hofstede, Neuien, Ohayv, & Sanders, 1990; Soeters, 2004). More specifically, parental occupation, especially uniformed vocations, tends to influence family members. In this vein, police cadets from such families tend to be more influenced by the reigning police culture and its values, including its attitudes toward specific perks of the occupation.

Corruption thrives in environments in which anonymity is more assured. Although corruption is not exclusive to highly populated cities, the potential for engaging in such activities is higher in large urban settings than in small cities. Similarly, Kutnjak Ivković (2003) pointed out that corruption is more widespread in urban than in rural areas. According to Bucak (2012) and Hou et al. (1983), a high level of cynicism is more likely to be seen among police officers in urban areas than officers in rural areas. From this perspective, cadets from larger cities are expected to consider transactions like speeding administrative procedures or fixing a ticket to be less serious than would cadets from less-populated cities. Data on perceptions of the seriousness of corrupt actions may be similar among police cadets. However, given their idealistic nature, academy cadets are expected to grade corrupt transactions more seriously than are PVS cadets.

Several studies draw attention to the discrepancies between line and ranking officers in terms of their perceptions of police processes (Reuss-Ianni, 1983). Country-specific comparisons (Huon et al., 1995; McConkey et al., 1996) as well as comparative (Kutnjak Ivković, 2005) intercultural/state-level studies indicate that officer rank is relevant to differences in perceptions of corruption. Differences in the entry requirements between the academy and PVS, their respective training quality and experiences, as well as the potential career options offered by each, contribute to differences in cadet perceptions of corruption. Thus, in this study, subjects are grouped as academy or PVS cadets depending on their training affiliation.

Methodology

The study explores how several factors influence cadets’ perceptions of corruption, including demographic characteristics, such as familiarity with police work, family income and social standing, as well as organizational factors, such as general and specific courses intended to raise awareness about corruption and police training. This study does not attempt to provide a causal explanation for this complex problem, but tries instead to shed light on some scientifically underexplored aspects of the phenomenon within the Turkish context.

This study involves case scenarios and questionnaires in parallel with relevant literature, and bears similarities to other studies that assess police integrity and misconduct in active police officers (Klockars et al., 2000). Many researchers have employed, adapted and modified these scenarios and questionnaires, both nationally and internationally, in a variety of countries with distinct cultural backgrounds (Klockars et al., 2004). The chosen theoretical framework is based on the foundations laid by Klockars and colleagues’ (1996, 2000, 2004) theory pertaining to the contours of police integrity.

The scope of this research is limited to assessing cadets’ attitudes toward petty corruption, and therefore only relevant scenarios pertaining to corruption were selected. Case scenarios were modified to reflect situations that a regular citizen might encounter during her or his day-to-day contact with the state or municipal bureaucracy.

Put succinctly, the survey instrument asked questions relevant to the cadets’ social background; the quality and adequacy of their police training in general and corruption-related programs in particular; their opinions about the seriousness of case scenarios involving a range of instances from gift giving to bribery; their opinions about rationalizing such acts; their perception of the seriousness of such acts; and their perceptions concerning the prevalence of such instances.

To reduce reliability and validity problems because of its application in another cultural setting, back-translation and pretest methods were applied. Paper-based surveys were employed to secure a higher response rate. The instrument was pretested on police cadets. Study participants were informed that their identity would remain confidential. Questionnaires distributed to cadets in the police academy and PVS were identical. The unit of analysis of the study is police cadets. In addition, the study employed a convenience sampling procedure.

Data for the study was collected in September 2004, from two PVS and the police academy, located in three different Turkish cities, namely, Izmir, Istanbul, and Ankara. A total of 700 questionnaires were distributed, and 676 were returned. The response rate was > 96%. Twenty samples were not taken into account because they were incomplete, reducing the sample size to 656. Therefore, the sample size was representative of the cadet population, and was adequate to produce reliable hypothesis tests (i.e., t-test). Please note that our analyses rely on data more than a decade old; therefore, the results may not be directly applicable to current broader population of the TNP due to rapid changes in Turkey’s economy, politics, and sociology. For this reason, we strongly recommend further studies in this field to better understand whether similar conditions currently exist in Turkey.

Measurement of the variables

The survey instrument used to collect the data comprised four sections. The first section included questions pertaining to the sociodemographic background of police cadets, such as family income, family occupations (public or private service), population of the city in which they lived, and parents’ education level. These questions enabled the authors to conduct comparative analyses between different groups of police cadets. Other sections of the questionnaire included instruments measuring how seriously the cadets perceived corrupt acts.

The case scenarios utilized were in line with our adopted definition (Barker, 1977; Baker and Roebuck, 1973) of police corruption; namely, any proscribed act that involves misuse of the officer’s official position for current or potential material reward or gain. Accordingly, our case scenarios were developed in ways that did not require total submersion of the cadets in very specific and complex police work. Hypothetical scenarios contained three main elements of the adopted concept: each scenario was (a) forbidden by some norm, regulation or law; (b) involved the misuse of the officer’s official position; and (c) involved material gain, regardless of value (Barker, 1977). The scope of the study limited the survey to instances of petty corruption, namely, gift giving, speeding fines, and bribery. The dimensions utilized were adapted from Klockars and colleagues’ (1996, 2000) concept of the integrity measurement instrument.

In this study, the dependent variable is the perception of seriousness and is measured by three items. Answers were on a five-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly agree” = 1 to “strongly disagree” = 5, or “very serious” = 1 to “not serious at all” = 5, depending on their relevance. In the variable “perception of seriousness”, three items were utilized to measure cadets’ perceptions of seriousness involving petty corruption scenarios. Lower scores indicate that a behavior is perceived as more seriousness. A sample item for this group is, “I consider this behavior to be very serious”. Independent variables are grouped into two categories, namely sociodemographic factors and organizational factors. The sociodemographic characteristics of cadets were measured by the following survey items: population of hometown, parents’ occupation, parents’ education level, and parents’ income. Organizational factors were measured by one item, namely, cadets’ affiliated training school. Each cadet’s school was measured as (1) police academy or (2) PVS.

Research questions and hypotheses

This study addresses the following research question using eight hypotheses:

RQ: To what extent is there a relationship between cadets’ perceptions of seriousness of a behavior pertaining to organizational and sociodemographic factors?

H₁: There are significant differences in police cadets’ perceptions of seriousness based on their school of origin.

H₂: Police academy cadets from a lower income category perceive corruption behavior as being more serious compared with police vocational school cadets from the same income category.

H₃: Police academy cadets from a higher income category perceive corruption behavior as being more serious compared with police vocational school cadets from the same income category.

H₄: There are significant differences in police cadets’ perceptions of seriousness based on their parents’ occupation.

H₅: There are significant differences in police cadets’ perceptions of seriousness based on their parents’ education level.

H₆: There are significant differences in police cadets’ perceptions of seriousness if they are from highly populated cities.

H₇: Parents’ occupation has a statistically significant effect on cadets’ perception of seriousness.

H₈: Organizational origin has a statistically significant effect on cadets’ perception of seriousness.

Analysis and findings

The first part of the survey instrument concerned organizational and sociodemographic characteristics of police cadets, such as school of origin, family’s monthly income, population of the city of origin, parents’ occupation, and the highest level of education of either parent. Table 1 shows that the majority of participants were PVS cadets (n = 376, 57% vs. n = 280, 43%). In addition, most cadets surveyed came from families with an income < 1,000 TL (n = 544, 83% vs. n = 112, 17%) and most were from large cities (n = 379, 58% vs. n = 277, 42%). Police cadets’ families work predominantly in the private sector (n = 371, 57% vs. n = 285, 43%) with an educational background equivalent to high school or less (n = 498, 76% vs. n = 158, 24%). The values of skewness and kurtosis indicated that the distribution of these variables was normal in Table 1.

Table 1.

Descriptive statistics for demographics of Turkish police cadets (N=656).

		Frequency	Percent	N	M	SD	Skewness	Kurtosis
Organizational origin	Police academy	280	42.7	656	0.57	0.49	0.297	1.918
Organizational origin	Vocational school	376	57.3	656	0.57	0.49	0.297	1.918
Gender	Male	587	89.5	656	0.11	0.307	2.580	4.669
Gender	Female	69	10.5	656	0.11	0.307	2.580	4.669
Parents’ income	< 1,000 TL	544	82.9	656	1.17	0.37	1.171	1.080
Parents’ income	≥ 1,000 TL	112	17.1	656	1.17	0.37	1.171	1.080
City population	< 250,000	277	42.2	656	1.57	0.494	0.316	1.906
City population	≥ 250,000	379	57.8	656	1.57	0.494	0.316	1.906
Parents’ occupation	Public sector	285	43.4	656	1.56	0.496	0.265	1.936
Parents’ occupation	Private sector	371	56.6	656	1.56	0.496	0.265	1.936
Parent’s education	High school and less	498	75.9	656	1.24	0.427	1.215	0.526
Parent’s education	Bachelor’s degree and above	158	24.1	656	1.24	0.427	1.215	0.526

Police cadets’ perceptions of corruption were measured using the variable, perception of serious behavior. Perception of seriousness refers to the level of seriousness of the given case scenario from a cadet’s own point of view. Three different hypothetical scenarios representing corruption were used to measure perceptions of the seriousness of corruption. Police cadets’ own attitudes toward the seriousness of corruption were measured by questions in three different hypothetical scenarios: petty corruption, gift giving, and bribery. The responses to each question were coded on a five-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly agree” = 1 to “strongly disagree” = 5. Therefore, the perception of seriousness was measured with a scale of three items that were summed and then averaged to create the variable perception of seriousness. In this study, the α values indicate that there was good internal consistency and reliability for perception of seriousness (Cronbach’s α = 0.742). As seen in Table 2, the largest item of perception of seriousness was gift giving with an average score of 2.66 and a standard deviation (SD) of 1.43, followed by petty corruption (M = 2.57, SD = 1.77) and bribery (M = 2.22, SD = 1.57). The values of standard deviation, mean, skewness, and kurtosis imply having normally distributed variable.

Table 2.

Scale characteristics of the dependent variables pertaining to three case scenarios.

	N	M	SD	Min.	Max.	Skewness	Kurtosis
Petty corruption	656	2.57	1.77	1	5	0.453	−1.617
Gift giving	656	2.66	1.43	1	5	0.321	−1.215
Bribery	656	2.22	1.57	1	5	0.840	−0.948

H₁, purporting the existence of differences between police academy and PVS cadets’ perceptions of case scenarios, was tested using an independent sample t-test. The hypothesis assumes that there were significant differences in perceptions of the seriousness of a behavior based on school of origin. As shown in Table 3, police academy cadets’ attitudes related to the seriousness of corruption were greater than those of PVS cadets for all three scenarios (t = 26.04, p <.001; t = 4.02, p <.05; t = 18.07, p <.001). Thus, the results support H₁.

Table 3.

Independent samples test: perception of corruption vs police cadets’ school of origin.

Organizational origin	Police academy			Police vocational school
Organizational origin	N	M	SD	N	M	SD	F	t
Scenario 1: Petty corruption	280	2.34	1.67	376	2.75	1.83	26.04	−2.96***
Scenario 2: Gift giving	280	2.48	1.37	376	2.81	1.46	4.02	−2.60*
Scenario 3: Bribery	280	2.08	1.45	376	2.33	1.64	18.07	−2.04***

*p<.05, ***p<.001

Data comparing police academy and PVS cadets from similar income categories shows significant differences (Table 4). For cadets from lower income families, there are significant differences in perceptions of seriousness for all three scenarios (t = 3.08, p <.001; t = 3.24, p <.01; t = 2.90, p <.001). As hypothesized (H₂), in all three categories, police academy cadets from lower-income families were stricter when grading the seriousness of the scenarios than PVS cadets from the same income category. However, contrary to H₃, there is no statistically significant difference in perceptions of seriousness for cadets from high-income families.

Table 4.

Comparison of seriousness between police academy and police vocational school (PVS) vs family income and parents’ occupation.

Family income	Income < 1,000 TL						Income ≥ 1,000 TL
	Police academy		PVS				Police academy		PVS
	N	M (SD)	N	M (SD)	F	t	N	M (SD)	N	M (SD)	F	t
Scenario 1: Petty corruption	211	2.27 (1.65)	333	2.74 (1.83)	27.58	3.08***	69	2.55 (1.70)	43	2.77 (1.82)	1.51	0.638
Scenario 2: Gift giving	211	2.41 (1.31)	333	2.82 (1.48)	6.88	3.24**	69	2.67 (1.52)	43	2.72 (1.31)	2.28	0.193
Scenario 3: Bribery	211	1.97 (1.38)	333	2.37 (1.66)	31.82	2.90***	69	2.39 (1.62)	43	2.00 (1.53)	2.81	1.27
Parents’ occupation	Public service						Private service
	Police academy		PVS				Police academy		PVS
	N	M (SD)	N	M (SD)	F	t	N	M (SD)	N	M (SD)	F	t
Scenario 1: Petty corruption	150	2.37 (1.68)	135	2.70 (1.85)	9.53	1.54**	130	2.29 (1.65)	241	2.78 (1.82)	17.84	2.52***
Scenario 2: Gift giving	150	2.46 (1.40)	135	2.81 (1.49)	2.90	.973	130	2.49 (1.34)	241	2.80 (1.45)	2.16	2.04
Scenario 3: Bribery	150	2.09 (1.47)	135	2.16 (1.59)	1.68	0.380	130	2.06 (1.44)	241	2.42 (1.67)	17.60	2.09***

**p<.01, ***p<.001

In addition, Table 4 shows that the findings pertaining to the mean comparison between both academy and PVS cadets from family groups working in the public or private sectors yielded significant differences in both groups in their perception of seriousness for the first scenario involving petty corruption (t = 1.54, p <.01; t = 2.52, p <.001). Cadets from families working in the private sector category differed significantly in their perceptions of seriousness relevant to the third case scenario (t = 2.09, p <.001). Thus, the findings support H₄.

Comparison between police academy and PVS cadets with respect to similar family educational backgrounds (Table 5), yielded more diverse findings, as per the first and third case scenarios. In keeping with H₅, academy cadets from less-educated families were stricter in terms of their perceptions of seriousness for both scenarios compared with PVS cadets in the same group. Similarly, academy and PVS students from families with a higher level of education showed significant mean differences in their perceptions for the first and third case scenarios. As hypothesized (H₆), mean differences in perceptions of seriousness were significant for all three scenarios in the group of cadets from highly populated cities.

Table 5.

Comparison of seriousness vs parents’ education and city population.

Parents’ education level	High school and lower						Bachelor’s degree and higher
	Police academy		PVS				Police academy		PVS
	N	M (SD)	N	M (SD)	F	t	N	M (SD)	N	M (SD)	F	t
Scenario 1: Petty corruption	171	2.18 (1.65)	327	2.72 (1.83)	28.26	3.24***	109	2.59 (1.67)	49	2.94 (1.80)	2.42	1.19*
Scenario 2: Gift giving	171	2.54 (1.41)	327	2.76 (1.45)	0.29	1.67	109	2.38 (1.30)	49	3.08 (1.50)	2.37	3.01
Scenario 3: Bribery	171	1.88 (1.39)	327	2.31 (1.62)	19.36	2.94***	109	2.39 (1.50)	49	2.51 (1.84)	8.89	0.30**
City population	< 250,000						> 250,001
	Police academy		PVS		F	t	Police academy		PVS		F	t
	N	M (SD)	N	M (SD)	F	t	N	M (SD)	N	M (SD)	F	t
Scenario 1: Petty corruption	110	2.40 (1.71)	167	2.68 (1.81)	4.65	1.30*	170	2.29 (1.65)	207	2.80 (1.84)	22.21	2.76***
Scenario 2: Gift giving	110	2.64 (1.45)	167	2.74 (1.41)	0.174	0.61	170	2.37 (1.31)	207	2.86 (1.50)	6.33	3.31*
Scenario 3: Bribery	110	2.19 (1.51)	167	2.29 (1.61)	2.06	0.53	170	2.00 (1.41)	207	2.37 (1.68)	20.25	2.26***

*p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001

The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model in Table 6 attempts to estimate the impact of parents’ education level, parents’ occupation, parents’ income, city population, and cadet school on police cadets’ perceptions of the seriousness of corruption in terms of the three case scenarios, resulting in statistically significant findings. Three of the five predictors are statistically significant and are consistent with H₇ and H₈. That is, parents’ education level, parents’ occupation, and organizational origin have a statistically significant effect on cadets’ perceptions of seriousness (B = 0.51, p<.05; B = 0.71, p<.05, and B = 1.06, p<.01 respectively). The results of the analysis indicate that cadets’ organizational affiliation, parents’ occupation, and parents’ level of education showed virtually similar effects in terms of predicting cadets’ perceptions of seriousness in the model.

Table 6.

OLS regression results for cadets’ perceptions of seriousness.

	B (SE)	Beta
Demographical factors
Parents’ education level	0.51* (0.24)	0.106
Parents’ occupation (public service)	0.71* (0.37)	−0.087
Parents’ income	0.04 (0.16)	0.010
City population (≤ 250 000 = 1)	−0.07 (0.20)	−0.015
Organizational factors
Cadets’ school (police academy)	1.06** (0.36)	0.130
R ²	0.03
F	2.628*

*p<.05, **p<.01

Conclusion

Corruption is a phenomenon that should be considered from a broader perspective, not only within the limits of the public sector in general and of the criminal justice system in particular, but also in the context of the wider society (Aközer, 2003). Our study findings implicitly suggest that the responsibility for raising awareness about the negative consequences of corruption lies with a wide spectrum of agencies and institutions, ranging from the family environment to local or national institutions. For instance, the significant relationship between sociodemographic background characteristics, organizational affiliations and petty corruption shows that tolerating basic forms of the corruption is rooted in many different individual, social, and institutional entities.

Given this context, it is important to understand the nature of the existing value system within a society and the direction in which it is evolving to find ways to reduce corruption. In other words, understanding the roots of corruption may provide a better intervention point for practitioners to deal with any level of tolerance for any type of correction. For instance, curriculum changes within PVS towards increasing awareness for corruption may limit the negative effect of sociodemographic background characteristics.

Public agencies that fail to synchronize their operations with changing societal values become obsolete and irrelevant to their environment. This is especially important for leadership cadres responsible for developing policies relevant to the fight against corruption. It might be useful to design educational programs aimed at raising awareness about the secondary effects of corruption for audiences ranging from primary schools to public organizations.

Police organizations reflect the cultural attributes of their national culture (Hofstede et al., 1990). In this vein, interventions should be designed primarily according to the characteristics of the society in which the organization is embedded. Additionally, due to the effects of globalism on such agencies, international norms pertaining to corruption should also be taught to police cadets, as well as to officers at all levels of the hierarchy.

The study revealed several important findings that highlight perceptions about the seriousness of corruption. In this study, the majority of respondents belonged to low-income families working in the private sector and originating in large cities. In addition, their family educational background was equivalent to high school or less. Both the t-test and multiple regression (OLS) findings show variation in cadets’ perceptions of seriousness pertaining to all three hypothetical case scenarios (H₁). In particular, cadet’s organizational affiliation affected their perceptions of the seriousness of corruption (H₈) in all three scenarios. Police academy cadets had a stricter attitude when evaluating the seriousness of the three cases compared with PVS cadets. PVS cadets generally apply to the police as their last chance of getting a job due to economic difficulties. Thus, PVS candidates’ opinions about the seriousness of corruption may be easily influenced by improper environmental factors.

Comparing police academy and PVS cadets by similar income categories, cadets from low-income families differed in all three case scenarios (H₂). More specifically, it appears that police academy cadets from lower income families were stricter in terms of grading the seriousness of the case scenarios in all three categories compared with PVS students from families with the same income level. Contrary to expectation, cadets from the higher-income group did not demonstrate salient differences in their perceptions (H₃). These differences might be due to the inexperience of academy cadets who did not have to spend anything to secure a job in the outside world.

The findings show that parents’ vocations significantly affected police cadets’ perceptions of corruption (H₇). In particular, in first case scenario, a significant difference was found when comparing police academy and PVS cadets’ attitudes with respect to their parents’ vocational background (H₄). Accordingly, police academy and PVS cadets with same family vocational background characteristics were statistically different from each other. Based on the extant literature, significant differences were expected between cadets from families with public-or private-sector backgrounds. In light of these findings, it is possible to think that cadets, to some extent, are under their families’ cultural influences with respect to their attitudes toward corruption. Therefore, the findings were consistent with the expected direction.

Family education level is purported to be one of the salient factors influencing individuals’ attitudes. Accordingly, in this study, it was assumed that police cadets from more-educated families would consider all case scenarios more serious compared with their fellow cadets with less-educated parents. Findings supported H₅ in that parents’ education level has significant effects on academy cadets’ perceptions of corruption, and in the expected direction when comparing the same levels of family education attainment. In fact, police academy cadets with less-educated parents were found to be stricter in their perceptions of seriousness compared with PVS cadets in the same category.

There are some potential explanations for these differences. For example, the seriousness of academy cadets from less-educated families may be due to a lack of knowledge about existing conditions involving corrupt transactions.

That is, cadets’ lack of access to more influential spheres due to their parents’ education level may have contributed to that perception. In other words, cadets from highly educated families might be more aware of the existing state of affairs in terms of corruption’s place in public life and thus have a more mitigated perception of the function of corruption. Since PVS cadets have similar attitudes, the effects of their parents’ education level might be mitigated due to the cadets’ own higher involvement in social life. Instead of adopting their parents’ perceptions, cadets may have developed their own sense of the way the work in which is done and, consequently, their own perceptions about the seriousness of corruption.

When police academy cadets and vocational school cadets were compared with regard to a large or small city of origin, findings did not yield statistically different outcomes in the perception scores, except for the second case scenario. However, as hypothesized (H₆), for those from large cities, a comparison of mean differences between academy and PVS cadets’ perceptions of seriousness were significant for all three scenarios. That is to say, academy cadets from large cities perceived corruption as being more serious than did PVS cadets. Cadets in the police academy and in PVS have differing perceptions about corruption. To mitigate differences stemming from their various social background characteristics, among police academy cadets’ perceptions of corruption, it is important to place more emphasis on training interventions that may raise awareness and uniformity about the phenomena of corruption. Perceptions of corruption are also relevant to developing awareness of this phenomenon. A good understanding of cadets’ perceptions of corruption may enable authorities to take appropriate measures to reorganize their training programs.

Footnotes

Authors’ Note

Nebi Cetinkaya and Idris Guclu are Independent Scholar at Ankara, Turkey.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Idris Guclu

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