Oh my, where to start.
You make it sound like the police just enter into ANYBODY’s home and take their money and then blow it on goodies for the police dept.
Actually, I think the law allows for police depts to be the recipient of captured dollars (after a conviction of the crooks). This is a good policy .. WHY ..?? Because then we can use those dollars for protective gear for our police; saving tax dollars for city’s, county’s and federal agencies.
If you don’t think the police need protective gear, you should find the video of the raid in LA where several police got killed because they were not in any protective gear, and they were using hand guns against AK-47’s. That incident is the main reason police units are so “geared up” these days. Just watch a few episodes of “COPS” and you’ll find out what it’s like to be out there on the streets in today’s world.
Are all cops good guys ..?? Not possible. They’re just humans and humans make mistakes; they all have a different personality; some are just plain jerks. But, all in all, the majority of police I’ve had to work with were really the good guys.
During the 1990s, there were an average of 450 no-knock raids per month conducted by the NYPD alone, 10% of which were to the wrong address.
It's out of control.
“Actually, I think the law allows for police depts to be the recipient of captured dollars (after a conviction of the crooks).”
You live under a rock. Do a little research. People’s cash and property is being taken on a regular basis. Many stories on this. The police accuse the property - not the person(s) of a crime or suspected crime. No way to defend that. You will spend way more trying to get back what they took.
No conviction is necessary. You must prove you are innocent of a crime. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
there is always a handful looking for pieces in the left wing media to attack the profession of law enforcement, it’s usually by the anarchists or those who want anyth9ing what goes but the go crying when they are broken into or a loved one was attacked because there is no police on the street
Stop and Seize: In recent years, thousands of people have had cash confiscated by police without being charged with crimes.
You are espousing a decent position, which I would agree with but, you seem wholly uninformed on this subject.
Asset forfeiture laws are civil and leave little recourse for those objecting to a practice that violates the 4th.
They take stuff and simply declare it as “ill gotten”.
If it’s “ill gotten” then prove it in a court of law.
Asset forfeiture enables the to forgo due process, with no money spent to defend their claim.
Read the article, then come back.
“Actually, I think the law allows for police depts to be the recipient of captured dollars (after a conviction of the crooks).”
I think you aren’t paying attention. There is no need for conviction under current asset forfeiture laws. They deliberately wrote the laws to put the burden of proof on the suspect. You have to prove your money is INNOCENT. Also, examine the effort require to do so. Most of the time, the cost is far too high. LE knows this. They WANT people to just give up.
“This is a good policy .. WHY ..?? Because then we can use those dollars for protective gear for our police; saving tax dollars for city’s, county’s and federal agencies.”
Is it? Because now they are motivated to get money, not criminals. Do you think they want to win a “war on drugs”, when that would kill the cash flow?
This encourages unethical behavior, assuming EVERYTHING is drug money. Because if it is drug money, they can take it. They don’t care if they harm innocent people. And it isn’t always as clear cut as tens of thousands of dollars. People have had this happen while carrying bail money and cash to purchase a car.
As for the LA thing? One event over twenty years ago. If one event is sufficient to justify something, then cop screw ups would justify disbanding SWAT.
“Are all cops good guys ..?? Not possible. They’re just humans and humans make mistakes; they all have a different personality; some are just plain jerks. But, all in all, the majority of police I’ve had to work with were really the good guys.”
Most cops happily ignore the bad among them, and even protect the ‘bad apples’. Any cop who does that is just as guilty as the ‘bad’ ones. And most cops hold to the Blue Line. There are very few good cops willing to stand against that.
Oh please, one incident almost 20 years ago involving suicidal bank robbers wearing body armor and using illegally modified weapons does not constitute a crisis of the police being under gunned.
In fact, if you are referring to the North Hollywood bank robbery shoot out of Feb 1997, NO cops were killed, however both robbers were killed and 11 police officers and seven non-law enforcement citizens were wounded.
In any event the police have more than made up any “arms gap” since the North Hollywood shoot out in 1997.
It makes a good excuse for militarizing law enforcement agencies beyond all reason or need though.
Asset forfeiture laws invite corruption and abuse and contrary to your assertion that a crook has to be convicted of a crime, what really happens is a civil condemnation proceeding in which the owner of the property has to prove a negative; that the subject assets are not the proceeds of illegal activity.
That’s why the court documents read (jurisdiction) vs (asset), not State vs Accused for the crime of “X”.
The process is inherently unfair, tyrannical even; the individual vs. state power , with government lawyers on staff.
How much justice can you afford?
An independent revenue stream allows police forces to escape accountability too, they get to spend the money any way they please, the People be damned.
Cops are supposed to be sheep dogs, not wolves.
Your contention that most cops you’ve worked with were really the good guys is your perception, it may even be true but is still irrelevant.
Asset forfeiture as practiced is an unjust tyranny which corrupts and perverts the rule of law and the administration of justice.
You must have led a sheltered life, the police started taking people’s money decades ago without the necessity of even charging them with a violation of any kind. You have to prove yourself innocent to get your money back and then you don’t get anything to cover your unnecessary expenses. This was covered on national television long ago before the media sold out what little was left of its honesty. Just consider this sentence,
“In tight budget periods, and even in times of budget surpluses, using asset forfeiture dollars to purchase equipment and training to stay current with the ever-changing trends in crime fighting helps serve and protect the citizens,” said Prince George’s County, Md., police spokeswoman Julie Parker.
What that basically says is that using money stolen from citizens helps serve and protect the citizens. Remember the massacre in Vietnam memorialized in the sentence, “We had to destroy the village in order to save it”?