Kuwait Country Profile
Police
Individual Corruption
Corruption in the police is common. The US Department of State 2009 reports that corruption occurs especially when a party involved in a dispute has personal connections to the police officer who is assigned to the case. It is also reported that police officers receive bribes from individuals for not interfering in cases of domestic abuse. On the other hand, only a small percentage of the households surveyed in Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer 2009 reported having paid a bribe to the police in 2008.
Business Corruption
According to World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011, surveyed business executives rank the reliability of police services to enforce law and order in Kuwait as relatively high.
Political Corruption
According to Global Integrity 2008, the police are subject to political interference. The police are sometimes pressured to release accused defendants before transferring them to courts, or to appoint their relatives and friends to join the agency, or benefit from tenders. Nevertheless, Global Integrity 2008 also reports that some police officials, even high-ranking officers, are taken to courts on charges of abuse of power or breaking the law.
Frequency
World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011:
- Business executives give the reliability of police services to enforce law and order a score of 5 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'cannot be relied upon at all' and 7 'can always be relied upon').
Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2009:
- 3% of the households who had contact with the police in 2008 report to have paid a bribe.
