Showing posts with label policing for profit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label policing for profit. Show all posts

Jason Snead: Why Police In Many States Can Seize Your Property Without Proving You’re Guilty Of A Crime

Politicians use cops to legally hold up citizens.      Civil asset forfeiture is a growing problem throughout the nation, driven by a profit incentive that encourages property seizures by law enforcement authorities even under dubious circumstances. That is the inescapable conclusion of the second iteration of Policing for Profit:        ... MORE

The Cops Now Steal More Property Than The Burglars

The incentives of civil asset forfeiture.   For decades now, federal government and their cohorts in law enforcement have been carrying out theft of the citizenry on a massive scale. We’re not talking about taxes, but an insidious power known as Civil Asset Forfeiture (CAF). The 1980’s-era laws were designed to drain resources from powerful     ... MORE

Supreme Court Considers Boundaries For Legalized Theft

by Doug Mataconis.    How much of your stuff can government without conviction of a crime? Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Luis v. United States, a case that deals with the issue of whether, and when, the government can seize assets prior to conviction when those assets are being used to pay for a Defendant’s criminal defense:   ... MORE

Paul Albaugh: The Need for Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform

Because theft should not be a legal activity.    Among the many reforms needed in government, civil asset forfeiture might be near the top. While a majority of Americans are not affected by the practice, it’s a problem that if left unchecked could get more out of hand than it already is. The French philosopher Frederic Bastiat warned of “legal   ... MORE

Civil Asset Forfeiture Is Oklahoma's New Stop And Frisk; 2/3 Of Cash Seizures By Police Come From Minorities

by David Lowe. People of color are being fleeced by law enforcement and the criminal justice system. The public began to pay more attention to the practice in places such as Ferguson, Missouri, where the courts and police preyed upon Black residents through court fines and fees. The exploitative system became a substantial revenue generator for  ... MORE

71% Of Americans Think Civil Asset Forfeiture Is Wrong

by Kevin Drum.     Too bad politicians don't care. Julian Sanchez draws my attention to a YouGov poll from last month about civil asset forfeiture, the practice of confiscating money that police merely believe to be connected to a crime. What do Americans think of this? -  Which of these options comes closest to your opinion about what SHOULD be      ... MORE

Government Likes To Steal Stuff: How One State Tries To Keep Civil Asset Forfeiture Victims From Fighting Back

by George Leef.   According to the Institute for Justice’s grading of the states on how bad they are when it comes to civil asset forfeiture, Arizona is among the worst, getting a grade of D. (Only five states are worse, with D-minus grades.) One reason why Arizona deserves its bad grade is the fact that its law attempts to deter individuals who have had       ... MORE

California Prosecutors Protect Policing For Profit Practices Allowing Gov't To Seize Property From Innocent Citizens

Law enforcement has better lobby than the citizens. A powerful last minute lobbying effort by a well-connected law enforcement group was more than enough to defeat a bipartisan bill in California last week that would have restricted police from seizing – and keeping – cash and property from innocent citizens. Passing the law, ... MORE

Johan Bennett: New Bipartisan Bill Strikes At The Heart Of The Federal Government's Civil Asset Forfeiture Apparatus

Program allows property to be taken without due process. Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu and GOP Rep. Justin Amash just teamed up Wednesday to introduce a bill into the House with the goal of eliminating the Drug Enforcement Administration’s controversial marijuana enforcement program. The DEA uses the Domestic Cannabis    ... MORE

California Forfeits Common Sense; Picks Cops Over Citizens

More evidence the government is not us.     Last Thursday, the Sisyphean boulder of property rights and due process rolled downhill. SB 443, California’s attempt to summarily end civil-asset forfeiture and “equitable sharing” abuse, roundly failed passage in the State Assembly, 24 to 44. Oddly enough, this was after a 31-to-1 vote in the     ... MORE

Asset Forfeiture: Do Police Seize Innocent People’s Money?

by Clifton Adcock and Ben Fenwick.   On a March evening in 2013, William Cicco drove away from his Broken Arrow home with a paper bag on the front passenger seat containing $15,555 in cash. He and his wife had been arguing. Cicco left with what he said was money from their savings and a second-mortgage loan. He never imagined the cash would   ... MORE

Stop Predatory Policing: Close The Civl Forfeiture Loophole

by Chuck Devore.  Traveling with a large amount of cash can be risky in California. An owner of a food truck from Northern California traveled to Los Angeles to make a large purchase. He had $10,000 in cash with him – not unusual, given that he operated a cash-based business. Unfortunately, his $10,000 was taken – by law enforcement. His cash was seized ... MORE

The Conservative Case For Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform

by Lance Lemmonds.  On his way to purchase equipment for Smoking Roosters, his fledgling BBQ restaurant, in Staunton, Va., in August 2012, Mandrel Stuart was pulled over for having tinted windows and a video playing in the back seat of his SUV. He was handcuffed and detained for two hours without having any charges filed, but found his duffle ... MORE

The Corrupting Influence Of Civil Asset Forfeiture

by Jacob Sullum.       According to the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys Advisory Council (APAAC), "an asset forfeiture practice that supplements other law enforcement activities provides an opportunity that is unique among governmental agencies—the direct augmentation of the agency's budget through the performance of its designated function."     ... MORE

Tim Cushing: This Asset Forfeiture Case Points Out Just How Far Government Will Go To Steal The Citizens Money

Everything is probable cause that a crime was committed.  A federal judge has just ordered the government to return $167,000 it took from a man passing through Nevada on his way to visit his girlfriend in California. The officers really wanted that money, too. They used two consecutive stops to jerry-rig some probable cause… even though ... MORE

New Mexico Cops Complain That State's Asset Forfeiture Ban Impedes Progress In Fighting The Failed Drug War

Police unhappy their license to steal has been revoked.  Cops in New Mexico are complaining that a new law requiring them to obtain a conviction before taking residents’ property via civil forfeiture is hurting their ability to perpetuate the government’s long-failed war on drugs. New Mexico House Bill 560, which takes effect this month, effectively  ... MORE

Nick Sibilla: Asset Forfeiture Laws Treat People Like ATMs

Having lots of cash is not a crime, it's just treated like one.  Imagine a place where the government can seize property from people who have not broken the law. The police, sheriffs and prosecutors can auction their property off and use the proceeds to pay their own salaries. But this isn’t a Third World dictatorship. It’s California.      ... MORE