Abstract
Corruption is not only deviant behaviour, it is a complex social phenomenon which works as a system with its own rules and development mechanisms. Together with Durkheim we can say that it is a supra-individual, collective phenomenon which is able to put pressure on individuals.
Corrupt transactions are regulated by corrupt norms and these norms are in conflict with the official normative system. Faults and breakdowns of the official normative system open the door for the spread of corruption.
In this way corruption represents a kind of social disorganisation. From this perspective it is not the individual who fails, but the system.
This hypothesis is supported by the results of the quantitative research focused on corruption in the police force of the Czech Republic. These results reveal a considerable degree of police disorganisation, and the pressure of corrupting norms on the behaviour of police officers.