The Current State of Bribery in Law Enforcement Agencies

The article presents a comprehensive criminological analysis of the current state of bribery in the system of internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation. The relevance of the study is due to the steady increase in the proportion of bribery-related crimes in the general range of corruption crimes, as well as their increased public danger, since they are committed by persons endowed with state authority. The methodological basis of the research was general scientific (analysis, synthesis, systematic approach) and private scientific (statistical, formal-logical) methods, which made it possible to ensure the reliability and validity of the conclusions. The empirical base was compiled by the official statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation from 2008 to 2025. The study revealed and documented a steady upward trend in both the absolute number of reported cases of bribery and their share in the structure of corruption crime. It has been established that persons serving in the internal affairs bodies consistently occupy a leading position among other categories of law enforcement officials who have committed corruption crimes. The regional specifics of the prevalence of bribery have been analyzed, showing its concentration not only in large metropolitan areas, but also in a number of regions of the country. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the price characteristics of bribes, which allowed us to conclude that domestic bribery is dominant. Based on a retrospective analysis of the data, a short-term forecast has been built, indicating the continuation of negative dynamics. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the systematization and in- depth analysis of a vast array of relevant statistical data, as well as in the formulation of conclusions of practical importance for improving the prevention and suppression of corruption in law enforcement agencies.