Police abuse of civil asset forfeiture laws has shaken our nation’s conscience. Civil forfeiture allows police to seize — and then keep or sell — any property they allege is involved in a crime. Owners need not ever be arrested or convicted of a crime for their cash, cars, or even real estate to be taken away permanently by the government.
Forfeiture was originally presented as a way to cripple large-scale criminal enterprises by diverting their resources. But today, aided by deeply flawed federal and state laws, many police departments use forfeiture to benefit their bottom lines, making seizures motivated by profit rather than crime-fighting. For people whose property has been seized through civil asset forfeiture, legally regaining such property is notoriously difficult and expensive, with costs sometimes exceeding the value of the property.
—The American Civil Liberties Union
Andy and I were pleased when civil forfeiture was recently outlawed in New Mexico. John Oliver gives details about how egregious the present system can be.
June 5, 2015
We do not have this phenomenon in India.
That’s great. It’s insane to let the police also be the prosecutors and judges. So much for the famed idea of balance of powers.
If it worked the way it was intended, it’d be great. Abuse of the system — any system — reduces it’s value, and, in some instances, negates it entirely.
Politics is interesting. Never take it to heart if it causes stress.
Mike,
If it was designed just to make money for the authorities, it is working just fine. Otherwise there should be some mechanism to protect the innocent. Talk about government overreaching….