Individual Corruption

According to Transparency International India & CMS 2007, the most common services for which households pay bribes, is filing complaint and FIR (First Information Report: a record of an alleged crime), to remove name as witness, to obtain a passport, for verification for a job, for a character certificate, or when in violation of traffic laws. Furthermore, the US Department of State 2010 also reports that corruption in the police force is pervasive, a fact acknowledged by several government officials. According to the report, police officers at all levels act with impunity and they are rarely held accountable for illegal actions. Allegedly, when a court found an officer guilty of a crime, the punishment was often a transfer. The report also reveals that citizens often had to pay bribes to receive police services.

According to the Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2010, a significant amount of household respondents perceive the police to be ‘extremely corrupt’, and more than three out of five respondents reported having paid a bribe when interacting with police officers in 2009. Furthermore, Freedom House 2011 also reports that it is not uncommon for suspects to be subjected to torture or abuse by police officers, in order to extract confessions or bribes.

Business Corruption

Police extortion from companies is not uncommon. This is supported by business executives surveyed in the Transparency International Bribe Payers Index 2008, who perceive the police as the most corrupt institution in India. Furthermore, business executives surveyed in World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 state that the Indian police cannot be consistently relied upon to enforce law and order.

According to a 2009 survey released by Trace International, between July and October 2008, a total 96 anonymous reports about bribery demands were filed on Trace’s Business Registry for International Bribery and Extortion (BRIBEline). Police officers accounted for nearly one-third of all the bribe demands reported.

Political Corruption

According to Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, Indian police forces are politically dependent, prone to corruption, and misuse their power. Partly due to high levels of politicisation, police recruitment across India is rife with corruption, and political supporters are sometimes granted positions in the police force. However, according to the same source, some changes for the better have nonetheless been observed. For example, the Supreme Court has mandated that a police commission be established to investigate police corruption, and it has ruled that corrupt officers can be prosecuted without government consent.

According to a 2008 article by The Times of India, 15 officials including police officers were arrested in New Delhi for alleged bribery and extortion in October 2008. These officers allegedly extorted shop owners, forcing them to pay sums ranging from INR 500 to INR 30,000 as 'protection money' on a monthly basis.

Frequency

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012:
- Business executives give the reliability of India's police services to enforce law and order a score of 4.1 on a 7-point scale (1 'cannot be relied upon at all' and 7 'can always be relied upon').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- Citizens give the police a score of 4.1 on a 5-point scale (1 being 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

- 40% of households surveyed consider the police to be 'extremely corrupt'.

- 64% of households who had contact with the police in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

Trace International: Business Registry for International Bribery and Extortion – India Report 2009:
- Of the 96 passive bribery reports filed between July 2007 and October 2008, police officers accounted for 30% of bribe demands.

Transparency International: Bribe Payers Index 2008:
- Business executives give the police a score of 4.2 on a 5-point scale (1 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt'), thus indicating the police as the most corrupt institution in India.

Transparency International India & CMS: India Corruption Study with Focus on Below Poverty Line Households 2007:
- 48% of households availing the services of the police in the last one year report having paid bribes - the highest figure among the institutions surveyed (16% used a contact and 4.5% did not take the service because asked for a bribe).

- 78% of households surveyed perceived the police to be corrupt.

- 92% of bribes are reported by households to be paid directly to police officials and 8% through a middleman.

- It is estimated that a total of INR 2.15 billion is paid bribes per year to the police.

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2006:
- Around 12% of companies surveyed identify crime, theft and disorder as a major constraint on doing business.