U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
                            Funding & Awards
 Developing Empirically-Driven Public Corruption Prevention Strategies
Award Information
Awardee
              Virginia Commonwealth University
Award #
              2015-IJ-CX-0007
Funding Category
              Competitive
Location
                    Richmond, VA
Congressional District
              4
Status
              Closed
Funding First Awarded
              2015
Total funding (to date)
              $412,108
Original Solicitation
              NIJ FY 15 Research and Evaluation on White-Collar Crime and Public Corruption
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2015, $412,108)
Convictions for public corruption offenses have increased significantly, especially at the state and local levels. Since 1995, federal convictions of state officials are up +95%, and convictions of local officials are up +67%. In addition, more than half of these cases involve participation of private
citizens in the official misconduct. Correspondingly, public opinions polls show a dramatic decline in trust and confidence in government and in those individuals running it. Corruption is one of the most serious of all crimes due to its impact on government legitimacy, in addition to the impacts of the offenses themselves. Public corruption offenses include bribery, extortion, embezzlement,
procurement and contracting fraud involving public funds, as well as illegal gratuities, nepotism, conflict of interest, illegal campaign contributions, official misconduct and influence peddling. In every case, a public office is misused for private gain.
This research is designed to answer several important questions: Why are the significant number of public corruption cases still occurring over many years, and why are they increasing? Are there circumstances common to these cases that can be ameliorated? Are these crimes of opportunity, predatory greed, or other motivations? What are the penalties imposed for these convictions?
What might be done in the future to reduce and respond to instances of public corruption, especially given their deleterious impact on public trust in government? A mixed methods research design will be employed to answer these questions, including analysis of a large sample convictions for state and local corruption offenses, interviews with a sample of offenders convicted of public corruption
offenses, interviews with federal investigators and prosecutors of these offenses, and interviews with local stakeholders. This study also will compare high-volume and low-volume jurisdictions to
assess reasons for the large discrepancies in the incidence of public corruption offenses. The 1 0 highest-volume jurisdictions for public corruption convictions account for a third of all convictions nationwide. Therefore, there is both persistence and growth over time in the incidence of public corruption, and a careful analysis of legal cases combined with interviews with three crucial
constituencies in both high- and low-volume jurisdictions will provide a basis to develop a typology of public corruption incidents, as well as insights and specific recommendations for their detection and prevention in the future.
This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law. ca/ncf



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      Culture of Corruption: Prosecutions, Persistence, and Desistence
                  A Handful of Unlawful Behaviors, Led by Fraud and Bribery, Account for Nearly All Public Corruption Convictions Since 1985
                  Distinguishing Corruption in Law and Practice: Empirically Separating Conviction Charges From Underlying Behaviors
                  Investigative Decision-making in Public Corruption Cases: Factors Influencing Case Outcomes
                  Developing Empirically-Driven Public Corruption Prevention Strategies
                  Focusing Anti-Corruption Efforts More Effectively: An Empirical Look at Offender MotivationPositive, Classical, Structural and Ethical Approaches

  
Date Created: September 14, 2015
    
          Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              Current Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Forthcoming Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Expired Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
    
      
            
            
            
      Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
    
      
            
            
            
      Fellowship & Student Programs
    
      
            
            
            
      Travel Scholarships
    
      
            
            
            
      NIJ Challenge ProgramSimilar Awards
        
                      NIJ co-sponsorship of the Center for Advanced Research in Forensic Science (CARFS)
                  A Mixed Methods Evaluation of the Impacts and Implementation of Florida's Risk Protection Order (RPO) Law, 2018-2023
                  Nanoparticle-Decorated Micropillars As Integrated Raman Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry Substrates for Quantitative and High-Throughput Toxicology Drug Analysis
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov