Asset forfeitures surpass burglaries
By Christopher Ingraham, Washington Post
Here’s an interesting factoid about contemporary policing: In 2014, for the first time ever, law enforcement officers took more property from American citizens than burglars did. Martin Armstrong pointed this out at his blog, Armstrong Economics, last month.
Officers can take cash and property from people without convicting or even charging them with a crime — yes, really! — through the highly controversial practice known as civil asset forfeiture.
Last year, according to the Institute for Justice, the Treasury and Justice departments deposited more than $5 billion into their respective asset forfeiture funds. That same year, the FBI reports that burglary losses topped out at $3.5 billion.
Assets of drug lords, crime rings, bank accounts houses and cars add up. Your door kick steal the liquor and cookie jar money doesn’t. Days are gone of the cat burglar stealing expensive art pieces.
WHEN THE BAD GUYS WEAR BADGES After the passage of Prop. 215, the police came after me with a vengeance. They were angry at me for, “deceiving the voters.” The North Tahoe Narcotics Task Force invaded my home with a 21 officer SWAT raid. My family and I were “Red Dotted,” with laser guided assault rifles then my wife and I were arrested. Next, the cops stole all my office equipment and a number of trophies, such as a picture of me and my former college roommate, Cheech Marin. The Placer cops then had me open my wallet and hand over all my cash. Same with my wife and her purse.
Later, after all the charges were thrown out of court, the cops said all our stuff had been lost, including our kids Christmas presents. It wasn’t until I went to the media and they started asking the police questions that everything that had been stolen suddenly was “found”.
Although Sheriff Ed Bonner later personally apologized to me and congratulated me for changing a bad law, the entire experience alerted me to the dangers of crooked cops who use the color of law to steal us blind. Fortunately the national media sided with us and roasted the Placer authorities over the raid, resulting in the permanent dismantling of the North Tahoe Narcotics Task Force.
As the old saying goes: “Don’t steal, the government hates competition!” And story this doesn’t even include the IRS, FTB, Board of Equalization (illegal fire tax), and what local jurisdictions “steal” other than through cops!
Taking the assets of drug dealers doesn’t seem like stealing to me. Why should drug dealers keep their illegal gains? Good work law enforcement.
What the heck do they do with the money?
Sierra….’They’ steal it.
“Anti Drug”:
The problem isn’t with taking money from proven criminals – it is that the majority of the time when they “steal” money and things from people, they don’t have enough evidence of any actual criminality to make a case. Convict the people first – then there’s a valid reason for taking money that was the result of criminal activity. Our Constitution requires that people be assumed innocent until proven guilty – and the police shouldn’t be taking money (or things)
from “innocent” people.