Most Corrupt Police Force in the World: Rarely is there any agency, body or force where acts of corruption are not perpetuated. Corruption is the act of infiltrating or impairing integrity, virtue or a moral principle that has been generally accepted. What defines corruption is that the act in question runs against an already established and generally accepted moral standard. Most of the times, corruption is perpetuated by the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, with or without remorse.

The police force wields a lot of power in the state. They are saddled with the duty of maintaining law and order in the state and preserving the rights of citizen. Yet, police forces are considered one of the most corrupt bodies in various countries for the reason that a good percentage of them perpetuate acts below or against the standard of their practice.

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Top 9 Most Corrupt Police In the World 2024

Here are the most corrupt police forces in the world

1. Nigerian Police Force (NPF): Nigerian Police Force has become so notorious that the 2020 Police Act removed the word ‘force’ from its name in order to clear the impression of harshness which the word seems to convey. Nigerian Police force is the principal law enforcement agency in Nigeria. Nigeria practices a single police system. This means that there are no states or regional police established, rather, the Federal Police operates in the whole states and regions of the federation. Establishing a state police in Nigeria is clearly unconstitutional, therefore, the Governor of states in Nigeria have no right to establish such.

The Nigerian Police Force is headed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) who is currently, Usman Alkali Baba. The Nigeria Police Force was formed in 1930, having their motto as ‘police is your friend’. Prior to 1930, what existed were the Northern Nigeria Police (NNP) and Southern Nigeria Police (SNP). Nigerian Police Force has about 371, 800 officers as sworn members. World Internal Security and Police Index (WISPI) in their statistics conducted in 2016, ranked Nigeria as the worst police force in the world with the aggregate score of 0.255. This was based on the assessment of their internal security, capacity, process, legitimacy and the results.

The summary of the base of their assessment was the workability and sustainability of Nigerian police, their accessibility, their level of acceptance by the people, and the result of their capacity. The motto ‘police is your friend’ is a tale as is being described by Nigerians, as they have experienced the import in its opposite. Nigerian police is known for being a threat to the rights and liberties of Nigerian citizens which they claim to protect. A regular saying for Nigerians is that they feel safer with the Army than they do with a Nigerian police officer. Nigerian police officers are known for bribery, starting from the roadside bribery and extortion up to executing their power of arrest and prosecution, unlawful detention of citizens and being a tool for operation.

Bail is free but never in the practical aspect of it. When it comes to obeying the law and court order, Nigerian police does exactly the opposite. According to WISPI, their legitimacy assessment weighs how much the police can be trusted by the citizens. In that aspect, Nigeria was ranked worst too. Nigerians would rather employ self-help or chose to do nothing than to call upon police intervention in a situation because, it is a notorious fact that there, nothing works.

Nigeria Police Force is the most corrupt police force in the world, followed by others.

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2. Haitian National Police (PNH): This is the principal law enforcement force in Haiti. The body was established in June 12, 1995, but was originally formed in 1912. The motto of Haitian National Police is, “protect and serve”. Haitian National Police is headed by the Director General, the office which is currently headed by Normil Rameau. They also practice a single police system which operates within the country as a whole.

Haitian National Police is rated one of the most corrupt police force in the world. They are notorious for indulging in acts such as the abuse of fundamental human rights of their citizens, disobedience of laws which they claim to implement. They are known for having poor response to violence and insecurity in the country. All these are done for their personal gain. Their reluctance to enforcing law and order has rendered the country a lawless one.

3. Afghanistan Police: Afghan National Police (ANP) is the principal law enforcement agency in Afghanistan. The body was formed in 1709. Afghanistan also practices a single police system whereby only the Afghan National Police operate in all the regions of the country.

Afghan National Police is comprised of Afghan Uniform Police, Public Security Police, Afghan Highway Police, Afghan Border Police, Criminal Investigation Department, and Afghan Local Police. Afghan National Police is headed by the Chief if Police, the office which is currently manned by Col. Abdul Eliam. Afghanistan as a country had experienced and still experiences the state of upheaval. It is one country where there has never been rest of violence. This affords their police force a level ground for perpetuating corruption.

They are known for perpetuating all forms of corruption ranging from political corruption, abuse of citizens, being used as an instrument of oppression, bribery, violence, extortion of vehicles at the roadsides, and the host of other doable corrupt practices. The level of corruption in Afghan National Police encourages corruption in other realms of power. Afghanistan was in 2017, ranked 177 out of 180 countries by Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

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4. Kenya Police: Kenya Police Service is the national law enforcement body in Kenya. It is subordinate to National Police Service. The National Police Service in Kenya is headed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), while the Deputy Inspector General heads the Kenya Police. Kenya Police was formed in 1906. Kenya Police is comprised of General Duty and Formations. Kenya Police is another police agency that is notoriously corrupt.

They are rated the fourth most corrupt in the world and the second most corrupt in Africa. Transparency International Corruption Perception Index has described them as the police force which has out fear in their citizens. Their officers commit manners of brutality on their citizens and have little or no regard for their citizens’ fundamental human rights.

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5. Mexico Police Force: Mexico police force is known as the Federal Police. It was formerly known as Federal Preventive Police. The agency was formed in May 30, 2009 and was reformed in October 1, 2019. Mexico police is particularly corrupt and notorious for perpetuating and fostering drug dealings.

Their police force has been infiltrated and its standard compromised. This renders them open to corruption, and open to being used as an instrument of oppression, extortion at the border, and in totality, disregard for their rule of law.

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6. Iraqi Police: Iraq’s uniformed police force, known as the Iraqi Police (IP), is in charge of upholding the country’s civil laws. Following the 2003 Iraqi invasion, the Coalition Provisional Authority provided direction for its setup, structure, and recruitment. Corrupt practices have a lengthy history in the Iraqi police force. They’ve managed to keep their corruption despite resources and retraining efforts. Iraqi police still engage in kidnappings, ransom demands, and bribery and are quite sectarian.

They have demonstrated a lack of ability to effectively curb terrorist activities and safeguard people. Hence, it is not surprising that terrorism is on the rise in this country that has seen protracted civil conflict.

7. Sudan Police: There are several reasons why Sudan is among the most corrupt nations in the world. Since Oman Al-Bashir was their president, there has been corruption in that country. The previous president of this country, Oman Al-Bashir, has also been charged by the International Court in The Hague with crimes against humanity, including genocide and war crimes, in addition to maintaining a corrupt police force.

According to reports, police in Sudan regularly demand bribes to increase their salaries. Officers frequently retaliate violently against people who denounce police misbehavior instead of filing reports or opening investigations. They infrequently look into suspected human rights violations and are frequently accused of making arbitrary and unlawful arrests.

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8. Russian Police: In many nations, including Russia, police corruption is a major issue. One of the world’s most corrupt police forces is considered to be the Russian police. Corruption in the Russian government is nothing new, especially among the police.

Information regarding the corruption and crimes committed by Russian police officers has recently come to light. Crimes perpetrated by Russian police forces include using excessive force, demanding bribes, and detaining innocent people. Russian police use corruption and bribes to maintain monthly quotas and make ends meet.

9. Pakistan Police: In place of the Indian Imperial Police, Pakistan’s Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) was established after the country’s independence from the British. Federal, provincial, and territorial police forces are under the service’s direction and authority. Among the most corrupt organizations in Pakistan is its police force.

The police are frequently regarded as Pakistan’s government’s most dishonest organization by its populace. Several crimes have been committed by Pakistan’s police forces, including police violence, extortion, bribery, and the detention of innocent people. The Punjab police is Pakistan’s second-worst police force, with the AJK police coming in first place for worst in terms of abuse and corruption.

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Conclusion

Police forces in most countries are said to be underpaid. As a result, they explore other means aside their salaries to earn their living. Asides being underpaid, it seems that little or no investment is made by country governments in respect to their police forces, thereby exposing them to the risk of inadequacy to carry out their duties. This justifies the fact that corruption is in the police force is motivated by personal gains ranging from personal income, pleasure that comes with arbitrariness, the pursuit of rank promotion, etc. inasmuch as corruption permeates through all the police forces in all countries of the world, the most corrupt ones have been discussed.

Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka ACMC

Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.