E: Public Corruption
Reduce the level of public corruption that has an impact in the United States. Other Information:
Situation: Public corruption poses the greatest single threat to the credibility of government institutions at all levels.
Corruption by those controlling the nation’s ports of entry and handling the issuance of visas and other identity documents
opens our country’s borders to potential terrorists and other criminal actors. The serious increase in cases of law enforcement
officers forming or supporting drug trafficking enterprises threatens the safety and security of our streets. Corruption within
correctional facilities undermines our criminal justice and judicial system. When military contracts involving vital defense
and weapons systems become the subject of bribery and kickbacks, national security is directly weakened. Many major metropolitan
areas have witnessed the indictment and conviction of public officials for corruption related activity, with public money
being misused for private gain. Along with the increasing frequency of all types of corruption, the level of sophistication
and complexity of this criminal activity present special challenges. Corruption allegations are among the most sensitive matters
addressed by the FBI. They must be investigated quickly, fairly, and accurately. Using a variety of federal statutes and investigative
techniques, the FBI focuses investigations on all levels of government — federal, state, and municipal — and all branches
of government — executive, legislative, and judicial. Approximately 50 percent of the FBI’s public corruption investigations
involve law enforcement officers, chiefly due to the sheer number of officers in the United States. Similarly, allegations
against municipal and state public officials, frequently involving contract or regulatory matters, are regularly investigated
because of the large number of such officials. Some of the FBI’s most sensitive and highest impact investigations center on
executive and legislative officials, as evidenced by the recent indictment of a former Illinois Governor, a former Texas Attorney
General, and a sitting member of Congress. The FBI’s Southwest Border Corruption Initiative will continue to target those
officials who, by misuse of their public office, negatively affect commerce between the United States and Mexico, aggravate
drug trafficking and violent gang activity, and endanger the security of our nation. Finally, when U.S. businesses bribe foreign
officials to illegally compete in the international marketplace, the FBI investigates under the Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act to prevent adverse impact on national security and foreign policy priorities. In almost every case, greed is the principal
motivating factor in public corruption. Over the next five years, government funding will expand, providing increased opportunity
for government officials to engage in corruption. Similarly, as the United States increases security at the borders and in
the issuance of identification documents, criminal enterprises will expand their recruitment efforts of public and law enforcement
officials to bypass the increased security.
Objective(s):
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