After completing my term paper on scandals and ethics in city politics, I was interested to read in a Style Weekly article about corruption in the city of
Richmond.  At a City Council meeting, a plan was proposed that would grant City Auditor Umesh V. Dalal full law-enforcement status to investigate fraud and corruption in financial transactions, therefore strengthening internal controls that could investigate and deal with these types of claims.  A recent study estimates that about 6% of city revenue is lost to internal fraud; however, as I learned from my research, this figure is probably much higher because of the number of fraudulent transactions that go undetected.  This shows the need for tighter controls, and an inspector general would certainly make some impact in fighting or avoiding corruption.  The City Council currently has a tip hotline for city employees to report their suspicions of fraud.  The reward system in place gives 10% of the money saved by avoiding the fraudulent act to the city employee who reported it, with a cap of $5,000.  There is also a similar hotline for citizens who report acts of corruption.  Giving people money for reporting crimes concerning money seems a little ironic and unnecessary, but maybe the policy, as well as the creation of an inspector general position to monitor ethical behavior internally, embraces the reality that corruption is an inevitable part of politics and the only way to prevent it is to pay money to those who report it.