United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

South Eastern Europe

Assessment of corruption and crime in the Western Balkans

Programme of dedicated surveys on crime and corruption in countries/territories of Western Balkans [1] .

Duration:  12 months.

Starting date:  18 January 2010.

Funded by the European Union

1. Project objectives

The overall objective is to provide an evidence-based assessment of corruption patterns and nature in the region and in each Western Balkan country/territory, as well as to strengthen national capacity to conduct sustainable and regionally comparable assessments.

The specific objective of the project is to develop and implement comparable household sample surveys on corruption in each country/territory of the Western Balkans. The main focus of the household survey will be on corruption experience and perception by households. More specifically, the action aims at achieving the following objectives:

1. Provision of a comprehensive regional assessment of corruption and victimization affecting households and individuals to develop, implement and monitor policies to prevent and fight corruption.

2. Strengthen national capacity to produce evidence-based assessments of corruption through full involvement of national data producers and anti-corruption agencies.

2. Expected results

• Assessments of corruption patterns and modalities at the country/territory and regional levels, including the collection of comprehensive data analysis and description of population segments most vulnerable to corruption together with an overview of extent and patterns of other forms of crime.
• Common regional methodology to measure corruption in countries/territories in the region.
• Strengthened national capacity to carry out evidence-based assessments of corruption

3. Main activities

Kick-off missions in project countries to discuss project activities with national counterparts (anti-corruption bodies, national statistical offices, related government institutions, NGOs) were arranged, information needs were collected, survey implementing capacities were evaluated, awareness about relevance of evidence-based assessments of corruption was raised. This activity was performed in conjunction with XCEET53 "Development of Monitoring Instruments for Judicial and Law Enforcement institutions in the Western Balkans" before the actual start of this project.

Missions to all seven project countries/territories were successfully completed by March 2010.

Regional workshop to discuss and agree on common survey methodology and regional indicators on corruption. Participants will represent national data producers, the agency implementing the survey at country level, and national representatives of anti-corruption bodies.

Corruption surveys: A large scale survey in each country/territory will collect information on corruption experiences by households, with the aim of measuring and characterizing their experience with corruption.

The topics to be covered are: experience of bribes/corruption paid,in particular in areas specifically vulnerable to corruption, such as judiciary, police, education, construction, land-use planning, but also social and health care; modalities of corruption acts; population groups more vulnerable to corruption; amounts paid in corruption transactions (cost of corruption); personal attitudes/opinions towards a range of behaviours, including acts representing corruption; perception about the extent and trends of corruption in the sectors of public administration specifically vulnerable to corruption; knowledge of anti-corruption measures and institutions; victimisation experienced in relation with selected types of crime; experience with reporting crime to the police; perceived efficiency of law enforcement in preventing and controlling crime, access to justice.

Pilot surveys have already been conducted in Croatia, Serbia and TFYR of Macedonia. Based on the results of these pilots the final survey toolkit has been developed and corruption surveys are being conducted in these three countries.  All relevant stakeholders have been met in research missions and have been integrated in the communication process and the meetings held. Fieldwork should be finished by mid September in every country/territory.

Data analysis and publication of final reports (7 reports from countries/territories and one regional report). Country reports are expected to be finalized by the end of October. A comparative regional report will be presented in a regional workshop in the first half of December.

Regional workshop to present and disseminate the results. The workshop will also serve the purpose of exchanging experience and work on a plan for future sustainability of corruption surveys. A regional workshop to present and disseminate the results will be organized on December 9, 2010, in conjunction with the International Anti-Corruption Day.