A friend recently shared a conversation she had with a new acquaintance about Idaho politics and elected officials. The new acquaintance is very knowledgeable, having worked in politics for years, including in Washington, D.C. This individual’s assessment of Idaho politics: “Idaho is the most corrupt state I have ever experienced.” A political professional with experience in Washington, D.C., views Idaho as highly corrupt. I find this assessment concerning and worthy of examination.

“Corruption” is an incredibly inflammatory term. State statutes are limited to what legislators deem “corrupt.” Statutes primarily address only the most extreme forms of corruption — bribery or extortion, which require monetary benefits or other clear advantages. Statutory criminal corruption can be extremely difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the public has a far more expansive view of what constitutes corruption than the limited statutory definitions allow.

Corruption comes in all shapes, sizes and degrees. All types of corruption, no matter how small, must be identified and called out, or it can grow like a cancer. Lack of accountability and transparency in any organization creates prime breeding grounds for corruption. Obviously, not all types of corruption are criminal, but that does not diminish the truth behind the misconduct or that people can be victimized by it. Just the mere perception of corruption should be avoided since it can generate organizational instability and significant distrust.

Hypothetically, corruption could be as minor as borrowing publicly owned tables for a private family event and transporting those tables using public employees and equipment. It might involve elected officials failing to address repetitive employee mistakes that cost taxpayers money, or attempts to use public dollars as “severance pay” to entice employees to resign rather than face disciplinary action. It could involve burying, falsifying or destroying records to hide wrongdoing, then using authority to reward those complicit in such activities. It could also involve retaliatory behavior against whistleblowers or critics. Other examples might include withholding key information to manipulate decisions, manipulating vendor bid processes to achieve desired outcomes, disregarding policies or statutes, or abusing authority by instructing public employees to violate ethical standards or disregard regulations. The list of hypothetical public corruption examples is extensive.

Despite corruption laws’ focus on situations involving pecuniary benefit, corrupt behaviors are much broader in nature. The use of public money to ingratiate oneself with special interest groups to gain some personal or political advantage also yields very real “value” to elected officials. Many other valuable “currencies” are sought by individuals in elected positions of power and authority. Power itself is a type of currency — the power to “make something happen” even when that individual lacks the statutory authority to do so. Power can also be abused to bypass laws and policies or to insist others do the same. Prestige, popularity and influence are all desirable currencies that may serve as motivating factors.

According to a study sponsored by the National Institute of Justice that examined approximately 57,000 federal public corruption cases involving federal, state and local defendants over 30 years, fraud (40.6 percent) and bribery (41 percent) were the leading charges. For local government corruption cases (7,090 in total), the breakdown was: bribery charges (34 percent), fraud charges (29 percent), extortion (24 percent) and conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (13 percent). Research identified eight corrupt activities that corruption falls under, including receipt of a bribe, solicitation of a bribe, extortion, contract fraud, embezzlement, official misconduct, obstruction of justice and violation of regulatory laws. Research also highlighted the increased risk at local levels and the “exploitable opportunities” created because many public official positions are “part-time, undertrained and undersupervised.”

If this country ever hopes to regain some semblance of governance based on honesty, integrity and ethical behavior, it must begin at home — at the local level. We must educate ourselves and others, ask questions and verify information. We must work to strip away layers of secrecy, pull back curtains and drag skeletons out of closets. It requires citizens, public employees (former and current) and private companies to step forward as whistleblowers and shine a light on what is hidden from the public. As with any unwanted disclosures, there will be pushback and denials.

Public corruption in any form cannot be ignored. Those given the responsibility to serve as the public’s eyes and ears have a heightened responsibility to identify and address corruption. A failure to recognize or act upon corruption undermines public trust, even if such failures aren’t enumerated as statutory violations. All corruption (statutory or not) weakens society, threatens the rule of law and damages trust between citizens and their government. It wrongly allows unequal treatment of citizens, employees and private industry. Unpunished, it emboldens and enables those with power and authority to continue the practice.