This Federal Program Lets Cops Seize Cash, Evade State Laws And Keep Over A Billion Dollars
excerpt
Since 9/11, without warrants and despite a lack of criminal charges, law enforcement nationwide has taken in $2.5 billion from 61,998 cash seizures under equitable sharing. This federal civil forfeiture program lets local and state law enforcement literally make a federal case out of a seizure, if they collaborate with a federal agency. Not only can they then bypass state forfeiture laws, they can pocket up to 80 percent of the proceeds. So of that $2.5 billion seized through equitable sharing, local and state authorities kept $1.7 billion for their own uses.
In order to seize cash, police typically pulled drivers over for minor traffic infractions.
During the stop, police would look for “indicators” of suspicious, criminal activity. Tinted windows, air fresheners, trash in the car, “a profusion of energy drinks,” “a driver who is too talkative or too quiet” and signs of nervousness have all been considered indicators. For one Florida sheriff, “cars obeying the speed limit were suspect—their desire to avoid being stopped made them stand out.”
On the grounds that a driver is sufficiently suspicious, police then have the authority to search the car with a drug dog. If the dog alerts (and there are significant concerns about their accuracy), police then have probable cause to seize property owned by the driver. After police seized cash, the government usually wins: The Washington Post found that out of nearly 62,000 cash seizures since 9/11,
in only 4,455 cases—seven percent—did the government agree to return at least
a portion of the money taken.
After he hired an attorney, the government offered to settle his case. But Costello would only get half of his money back.
With his legal fees topping $9,000, Costello kept just $7,000—less than a quarter of what was originally seized. “Why would [they] give anything back if they thought you were guilty?” he told The Washington Post.
Across the country, 298 departments and 210 task forces, ranging from tiny Estelline, Tex. to Philadelphia, have seized the equivalent of at least 20 percent of their budgets. Police departments have become “dependent, if not addicted to that revenue stream,” noted Norm Stamper, former Seattle Chief of Police and now an advisory board member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. “It’s when that revenue becomes a line item in next year’s budget that you’re dealing with I think a corrupt practice,” he added.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/instit...-cash-seizures-civil-forfeiture/#63399f6a561b
Trial proceedings are supposed to make robbery feel better?