Most notably, those types of behaviors that have been generally recognized as corruption include bribery, extortion, narcotics violations and other criminal offenses. To constitute bribery, a citizen must initiate the offer to have an officer do or not do something. For example, traffic violations. For example, the officer requires a person who has committed a crime to give them something of value to avoid arrest. Narcotics Violations Research appears to indicate substantial usage of narcotics by police officers.
Further research indicates that a substantial portion of corruption centers around drugs.
Other problems arise when officers become involved with drug trafficking, especially when they are paid to ignore certain dealings, or steal drugs from crime scenes and sell them on the streets. The most typical response to corruption is to create a commission to investigate the corrupt activities, with the most famous being the Knapp Commission. This commission was created in response to corruption in the New York Police Department in 1970. They drafted a report which suggested widespread corruption and two types of officers that were involved. Further classification of corrupt activities can be found at the departmental level as well.