Bribery can be committed very easily, as it typically only involves words and not actions. One of the more common types of bribery is attempting to bribe a police officer with monetary compensation in exchange for the officer dismissing or overlooking potential charges against that person.
In Arizona, this crime is detailed in A.R.S. 13-2602- bribery of a public servant of party officer. The statute states:
“A person commits bribery of a public servant or party officer if with corrupt intent:
1. Such person offers, confers or agrees to confer any benefit upon a public servant or party officer with the intent to influence the public servant’s or party officer’s vote, opinion, judgment, exercise of discretion or other action in his official capacity as a public servant or party officer; or
2. While a public servant or party officer, such person solicits, accepts or agrees to accept any benefit upon an agreement or understanding that his vote, opinion, judgment, exercise of discretion or other action as a public servant or party officer may thereby be influenced.”
It is also important to note that it is no defense that the person solicited was not qualified to act in the manner in which solicited for. In other words, a person can still be guilty of bribery even if they bribe an administrative assistant who has no power to dismiss criminal charges against that person.
Bribery of a public servant or party officer is a class 4 felony in Arizona.
Less common forms of bribery are commercial bribery (defined in A.R.S. 13-2605) and trading in public officer (defined in A.R.S. 13-2603).
It is also a crime in Arizona to offer to exert influence over another in Arizona for consideration. The common scenario in this case is a person offering to get that ticket dismissed because he knows the police officer for some monetary value. This crime, defined in A.R.S. 13-2606, is a class 4 felony in Arizona.