Civil forfeiture has become a significant government intrusion in recent years. While it remains a viable instrument for federal agents enforcing customs laws and fighting international crime, misguided policies and misaligned incentives foster abuses and raise grave constitutional concerns.
Each year, federal and state forfeiture programs allow law enforcement to seize more than $3 billion in cash and property from thousands of people – often without ever charging them with a crime. There are also serious questions as to whether civil courts using lower burdens of proof are the appropriate means to enforce government anti-crime policies.
Civil forfeiture further jeopardizes the relationship between police and their communities when vulnerable residents who cannot afford to challenge small-value seizures are targeted. There are also questionable benefits when financially-stressed departments prioritize revenue-generating forfeitures over arrests, drug interdiction, and crime-fighting.
CEI is addressing these issues through its new Forfeiture Reform Initiative: engaging federal and state policymakers to implement much-needed reforms and educating the public about their constitutional rights to stop improper seizures in the first place.
No person should have to fear for their property while engaged in lawful activities or lose it without ever being convicted of a crime.
Featured Posts
Blog
Sunshine in Wyoming’s civil forfeiture
Transparency in civil forfeiture took a small step forward last week when the Wyoming Liberty Group published its latest report. One difficulty in writing about…
Blog
Charlotte-area police departments are rolling in forfeiture funds
I’ve always loved William Blake’s poem “Auguries of Innocence,” which begins by asking the reader “To see a World in a Grain of Sand.”…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Protecting your property rights with Betsy Sanz
In this week’s episode we cover slow-moving infrastructure projects, the impact of the conservative boycott of Bud Light, good and…
Search Posts
Newsletter
Day Laborers in LA, Nuclear Power and Corporate Finance
Los Angeles lawmakers require home improvement stores to construct shelters for day laborers who wait for work in their parking lots. Electricity provider Constellation Energy…
Op-Eds
Bailing Out Kelo
Of all the unintended consequences of the housing bill that passed the House on Wednesday, the most ironic and far-reaching may be this:…
Newsletter
Oil Prices, Housing Markets and Power Plants
The president of OPEC predicts even higher oil prices in the near future. Washington, D.C. suburb Fairfax County, Virginia plans to spend $10 million to…
Newsletter
Gun Rights, the Fairness Doctrine and Internet Gambling
The Supreme Court strikes down the Washington, D.C. ban on handgun ownership. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces support for the “Fairness Doctrine” in broadcast regulation.
Letters
Open letter to Congress on Dodd-Frank mortgage housing bill
Open letter to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives As groups representing millions of taxpayers nationwide, we are writing to respectfully urge you to…
Newsletter
Spaniards Sue Greenpeace, Judge Orders His Salary Raised and New Hampshire’s Symbolic Initiative
Coastal residents in Spain threaten to sue Greenpeace after the group’s predictions of sea level rise from global warming cause local real estate prices to…