Research shows that the media and other observers can trivialize the issue of corruption, thereby neglecting the context of police corruption and the dynamics behind its operation. It also neglects the complex variables involved in the control of corruption. This paper addresses the debate around the definition of corruption in England and Wales. It argues that the current anti-corruption process is qualitatively different from those which have preceded it. Corruption has been defined broadly but made more specific by narrowing down the focus to serious corruption in important areas of policing. Attempts have been made to control corruption via a dedicated agency through prevention and management and administration approaches. The strategies pursued by these services are important in that they highlight the development of a permanent and systematic attempt to control corruption. However, the approach to corruption bears comparison with that adopted by other major police services in other jurisdictions and represents a break with previous and unsuccessful efforts at corruption control in major police forces in England and Wales. References