Corruption can be defined as "the abuse of granted powers for personal gain". It can also be described as letting personal or family relationships influence economic decision making, whether by private economic agents or government officials. Corruption is always kept secret and therefore the individual behavior of corrupt agents is almost impossible to systematically observe in real life. Government objectives are vital to understanding the various negative effects of corruption on the public service. Corruption makes governments unable or unwilling to maximize the welfare of the public. It distorts agents' decisions and limits the bargaining space available to agents and the government. Corruption can be divided into two sections, internal and external corruption. Internal corruption refers to illegal acts and dealings within a police department by more than one officer. External corruption consists of illegal acts and agreements with the public by one or more officials of a department. For an act of corruption to occur, three distinct elements of police corruption must be present simultaneously: 1) abuse of authority, 2) abuse of official capacity, and 3) abuse of personal achievement. It may be said that power inevitably tends to corrupt, and it must still be recognized that, while there is no reason to suppose that policemen as individuals are any less fallible than other members of society, people are often shocked and outraged when policemen they get caught breaking the law. The reason is simple. Deviance arouses a special feeling of betrayal. Most studies support the idea that corruption is endemic, if not universal, in the police… middle of paper… our culture and way of life and their cultures influence their actions. For example, they may hit their children when they misbehave. As a result, abused children grow up to become police officers, or other officials with power, who end up abusing the weak. America can influence those corrupt countries through our foreign policy. Over a period of time, it will change their cultures, and their cultures will change their future actions. Works Cited Burns, John F. “In Pakistan, Coup Trials Mostly Produce Skepticism.” New York Times April 2, 1996: A5.Rashid, Ahmed. “Pakistan: Problems Ahead, Problems Behind.” CurrentHistory v 95 (April 1996): 158-164.Tang, Rose. “China turns corruption into tourist attraction.” CNN.COM. August 27, 2001.< http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/08/27/china.tourism/>.