To commit an abuse of office, a public official must either intend to make something good happen for themselves or someone else (a benefit) or make something bad happen to someone else (a detriment).
Common examples of an abuse of office include financial benefits or detriments, such as:
- obtaining property or money for yourself or someone else
- depriving someone of their property or assets
- causing a significant cost to someone that would otherwise not have arisen.
Or they could be employment or job-related benefits or detriments, such as:
- using agency resources to further a personal business interest
- depriving a person of an employment opportunity.
The public official may still have abused their office even if they did not gain a personal benefit.
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