Posted on 11/17/2015 7:22:35 AM PST by aMorePerfectUnion
Between 1989 and 2010, U.S. attorneys seized an estimated $12.6 billion in asset forfeiture cases. The growth rate during that time averaged +19.4% annually. In 2010 alone, the value of assets seized grew by +52.8% from 2009 and was six times greater than the total for 1989. Then by 2014, that number had ballooned to roughly $4.5 billion for the year, making this 35% of the entire number of assets collected from 1989 to 2010 in a single year. According to the FBI, the total amount of goods stolen by criminals in 2014 burglary offenses suffered an estimated $3.9 billion in property losses. This means that the police are now taking more assets than the criminals.
The police have been violating the laws to confiscate assets all over the country. A scathing report on California warns of pervasive abuse by police to rob the people without proving that any crime occurred. Even Eric Holder came out in January suggesting reform because of the widespread abuse of the civil asset forfeiture laws by police.
Bloomberg News has reported now that Stop-and-Seize authority is turning the Police Into Self-Funding Gangs. They are simply confiscating money all under the abuse of this civil asset forfeiture where they do not have to prove you did anything. Prosecutors are now instructing police on how to confiscate money within the grey area of the law.
A class action lawsuit was filed against Washington DC where police were robbing people for as little as having $100 in their pocket. This is getting really out of hand and it has indeed converted police into legal criminals or “gangs†as Bloomberg News calls them.
Bloomberg Article worth reading.
no real difference between cops and crooks save the uniform
Gov’t screws up every program they touch. Why do we allow this?
So basically both are thieves; one just does it “legally” with pen and paper; the other does not.
Note that Dinesh D'Sousa has come to the conclusion that the Gov't LEO organizations are criminal enterprises.
Completed it.
Supporting the police.
So where and to who does all the money from forfeitures/seizure go.
Theft. One thing the government does better than the private sector. Where are the Republicans? Coming up with their tax plans to more efficiently rob us.
‘Police Civil Asset Forfeitures Exceed All OTHER Burglaries in 2014’
Fixed it.
We don't need no sticking Due Process.
Essentially, police and other agencies can seize any property at any time. The cost of attempting to reclaim the stolen property is normally more than the property is worth and the attempt is more often unsuccessful than successful.
Driving through Volusia County in Florida in a late model Cadillac or Lincoln will get you stopped by police and any cash will be confiscated. If you refuse permission for a seach there is a police dog nearby that will dutifully “alert” on your car.
The money goes into the budgets o the expropriating agencies which sometimes have deals with the City or County governments to share. The extrabudgetary infusion into the Department’s budget lets the local government reduce its support and the money also buys some goodies for individual officers and their bosses. Confiscated cash is not necessarily properly accounted for.
That was a good article. Surprising given the autocratic views of the owner.
Add me, please! Don’t know how I missed that in the past.
Police Civil Asset Forfeitures Exceed All Burglaries in 2014
.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
