Property rights are among the fundamental elements of a free society and a free economy. Since 1984, CEI has defended these principles by opposing public policies that sound great, do little, and ultimately harm the common good.
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
“They’re Taking My Stuff!” – Now on Video!
News that involves the police is inherently dramatic, and stories about what police officers do regularly make the news—asset seizure of hundreds of thousands of…

Blog
This Week’s Civil Forfeiture Outrages: Do People Facing Forfeiture Get Due Process?
A high-profile reversal of a recent civil forfeiture case makes me wonder: Do those who face civil forfeiture generally receive due process of law? That…

News Release
Report: Government Seizes Billions in Private Property, but Citizens Have Little Recourse
Every year, federal, state, and local government agents take and permanently keep, collectively, billions of dollars of Americans’ property through a practice called civil forfeiture,…
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News Release
Institute Attacks Whitman Call For State Control of Open Space
Washington, DC, January 21, 1998 — The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) blasted Governor Christie Todd Whitman’s (R-NJ) plan to lock up one million acres…
Publication
Another Take On Takings
Imagine a federal law that prohibits people from “taking” something. No, it’s not the U.S. Constitution’s forgotten Takings Clause, which states, “nor shall…
News Release
International Land Designations Threaten Sovereignty, Usurp Powers Of Congress
WASHINGTON, DC June 3, 1997 – A proliferation of international treaties aimed at protecting the “global environment” are involving the United Nations increasingly in…
Study
The Yellowstone Affair: Environmental Protection, International Treaties, and National Sovereignty
Full study available in pdf format Environmental regulation has gone international in recent decades. There has been a proliferation of treaties, conventions, and protocols aimed…
News Release
CEI Joins Large Congressional Coalition to End United Nations Entitlement
Announcing its support of a growing coalition to rethink United Nations treaties, conferences and global taxation proposals in general and the U.S. “debt” to the…
Study
How To Reform Grazing Policy
Full Document Available in PDF Property rights have been recognized since ancient times as an essential element of a well ordered society.