Law Commons^™

New York State's Innovative New Program For Risk Management: Bringing Leading Private Sector Practice To Government, Office Of New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

On January 21, 2015, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo implemented New York’s first statewide system for risk management. Designed to identify, manage and mitigate vulnerabilities in the areas of ethics, risk and compliance, this system ensures that efficient and responsive government services are provided to New York’s almost 20 million residents.

The size, scope and complexity of New York’s operations demanded the implementation of a risk management system. New York’s government includes a fiscal year 2016 operating budget of $94.25 billion, 110 executive agencies and authorities with over 224,000 employees, $198 billion in contracts, and $35 billion in federal benefits programs. …

How To Craft A Powerful Annual Report, Amy Kurland

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

To an oversight agency, an annual report is more than a financial statement. At the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the City of Philadelphia, we view our annual report as an opportunity to increase awareness of our office, to encourage public reporting, and to deter wrongdoing. Because most investigations originate from tips submitted by citizens, we see community engagement as critical to our success.

In our years of report writing, we have gained a lot of experience about what works and what does not work, and we have distilled that experience into six basic lessons for maximizing the …

Leveraging Resources And Relationships In Joint Corruption Investigations, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Prosecutors and investigators pursuing corruption cases need all the help they can get. Detecting and proving public integrity violations can require hours of work, specialized expertise, and sometimes expensive software or surveillance equipment. Collaboration across agency lines can be a force multiplier, bringing additional resources, expertise, and legal tools. Strong partnerships can also provide critical cover in politically sensitive cases, helping investigative agencies weather the storm and diffuse political risks.

This paper is intended to provide practical insights about the benefits and nuances of inter-agency cooperation on public integrity cases, as well as anticipated challenges. The paper ends with two …

The Integrity Monitor Program: The Role Of The Private Sector In City Contract Oversight, New York City Department Of Investigation (Doi)

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

New York City’s Department of Investigation (DOI) is responsible for overseeing thousands of contracts between the City and private firms, worth more than $14 billion annually. To fulfil this mandate, DOI vets every City contract and conducts regular audits and investigations to detect and address potential instances of waste, fraud, abuse, or corruption.

Certain City contracts may require extra oversight due to their nature, scale, or exigency or concerns about a contractor’s past record of performance. In such cases, DOI might require contractors to comply with a regime of closer scrutiny and more regimented oversight to deter misconduct and detect …

Strategies For Increasing And Improving Public Corruption Prosecutions: The Task Force Model, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Without a doubt, public corruption is the sort of crime that prosecutors and investigators everywhere would like to vigorously pursue. With the limited resources available to most of these offices and competing mandates to fight many other sorts of crime, however, how can offices expand their ability to do more corruption cases? One solution can be found in banding together as a task force. This brief provides examples of task forces around the country that could serve as models for an office or a jurisdiction looking to improve their capabilities to fight corruption effectively and efficiently.

What Is Asset Tracing? A Primer On "Following The Money" For Integrity Practitioners And Policymakers, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

To put it simply, asset tracing is the process by which investigators “follow the money.” Investigators trace assets by conducting financial investigations, during which they determine a subject’s assets, examine the revenue generated by criminal activity, and follow its trail.

Ingredients For An Effective Public Ethics Training Program, Alicia Olmstead, Sabine Romero

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Most of us will agree that ethics training is vital to ensuring a government whose employees act with integrity. But many employees find training on their ethical obligations to be some other things as well: difficult to understand, overly preachy, or just plain boring. We all know that people retain information better when it is presented in an interesting and memorable way. The challenge with ethics training is to take this important, but not always accessible, subject matter and make it stick in the minds of government employees so that they do the right thing when facing an ethical dilemma.

What Do Corrupt Firms Have In Common? Red Flags Of Corruption In Organizational Culture, Alison Taylor

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

What kind of an organizational culture do corrupt companies tend to have? To answer this question, I conducted a study based on a review of academic literature as well as in-depth interviews with 23 prominent lawyers, investigators, scholars, and policymakers with firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of dozens of corrupt firms. They highlighted a number of common traits often missed by standard compliance processes that might be “red flags” for organizational corruption. These traits don’t guarantee corruption within an organization, but they do point to the conditions in which it thrives.