Police integrity in Estonia

Abstract

This chapter addresses the context for and the nature of integrity among the Estonian police-a police agency with a long but disrupted history. The data on police corruption are based on a study carried out among the Public Order Police in Estonia in 2013. One hundred and nine respondents provided their opinions about 11 hypothetical cases of police misconduct, including seriousness of misconduct, appropriate and expected discipline for such misconduct, and the extent to which such misconduct would be protected by the code of silence. The findings suggest that, although all of the scenarios studied were seen as relatively serious, strongly believed to be violations of organizational rules, and dismissal was seen most often as the appropriate and expected outcome for such behaviors, there was a considerable reluctance toward reporting such behaviors. These results echo a wider tendency in Estonian society, namely a considerable reluctance to report corruption.