The smallest state in the Union can rake in big money from asset forfeiture. Since 2003, law enforcement in Rhode Island has hauled in $15.7 million using the state’s asset forfeiture laws.
But most of the cases were not targeting drug kingpins. Between 2003 and 2013, the average value of forfeited property was $4,142. Almost 40 percent of these cases affected property valued at less than $1,000. Only 12 out of almost 3,800 incidents involved property worth more than $100,000.
Last year, 22 police departments seized more than $1.3 million from 306 incidents. But fewer than half of these actually led to a conviction. In fact, under civil forfeiture, the government can take property from people never convicted of a crime, or even charged with one. Only a handful of states (including, most recently, Minnesota) actually require a criminal conviction to forfeit property.
(ht Mark Perry)
No comments:
Post a Comment