Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Asset Forfeiture and the Cycle of Electronic Surveillance Funding

posted by Blackmoore on Thursday January 22 2015, @11:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the criminal-intent dept.

AnonTechie writes with a story from the Electronic Frontier Foundation which provides some background on the asset forfeiture story we ran last week:

“You follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers. But you start to follow the money, and you don't know where the f*** it's gonna take you.”

This oft-cited wisdom comes from Detective Lester Freamon, a character in the classic HBO series The Wire, which tracked how an elite task force of (fictional) Baltimore cops used electronic surveillance to bring down criminal networks. But, the sentiment is ironic to a fault: if you keep following the money, it might take you right back to the police.

Asset forfeiture has long been a topic of controversy in law enforcement. Cops and prosecutors have had the power to seize property and cash from suspects before anyone has actually been convicted of a crime (usually narcotics-related). Then these law enforcement agencies have plugged a portion of that money (and money derived from auctioning of property) into their own budgets, allowing them to spend in ways that possibly would not have passed scrutiny during the formal appropriations process.

Critics note that asset forfeiture creates a perverse incentive for policing priorities: the more assets cops seize, the more money they get to spend. Satirist John Oliver characterized the practice as akin to “legalized robbery by law enforcement” in a must-watch segment on his show Last Week Tonight. News organizations, including New York Times, the New Yorker and the Washington Free Beacon have recently outlined abuses of the system.

[...]

The Washington Post has released its giant cache of Equitable Sharing Agreements from thousands of local law enforcement agencies around the country. We urge you to dig in, find your local cops, identify out how they’ve spend this money, and let the world know what you find.

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Asset Forfeiture and the Cycle of Electronic Surveillance Funding | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 23 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Friday January 23 2015, @05:05AM

    by frojack (1554) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 23 2015, @05:05AM (#137147) Journal

    Go back and read the story, and the one I posted earlier (second link in TFS).

    It goes something like this:
    Tin-horn sheriffs stop some unsuspecting guy going to pay off his Truck with cash money, and on a pretense, the have a drug dog sniff the car and ask to search. In the search, they find an envelope containing 8 grand. They seize the money, and the truck, and log it in with the FBI or DEA or some other agency, which makes it legal EVEN when the state has no forfeiture statute.

    The feds take a skim, hand the bulk of it back to the Sheriff, to buy just about what ever they want, off budget, off books.

    The poor stiff now has to PROVE that all that money was obtained legally. PROVE his innocence. If He can, maybe in a year or two he will get part of his money back just in time to pay his lawyer. The truck was probably sold off, so good luck getting any of that back.
    Now if the guy was dealing dope, he just walks away. But too many innocent people were getting their shit ripped off. Get Lucky in Vegas, don't you DARE drive home with cash money.

    All AG Holder did was tell local/county/state LE that the feds won't be signing on to that scam any more.
    Holder didn't outlaw the practice when the Feds themselves pull the same stunt.
    Holder didn't outlaw the practice when States have Seizure Statutes. (Not many do, it was an unpopular scam).

    So it had everything to do with the Federal Government, because they were giving cover to these thieving local LE.

    See http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/holder-ends-seized-asset-sharing-process-that-split-billions-with-local-state-police/2015/01/16/0e7ca058-99d4-11e4-bcfb-059ec7a93ddc_story.html [washingtonpost.com]

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday January 23 2015, @07:08AM

    by kaszz (4211) on Friday January 23 2015, @07:08AM (#137164) Journal

    Lesson? Start a drug business so you can afford seizures from time to time and still make a big profit? :D

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 23 2015, @07:47AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 23 2015, @07:47AM (#137170)

      Carry your cash on your person.
      Get multiple wallets if necessary.

      -- gewg_

      • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Friday January 23 2015, @04:17PM

        by urza9814 (3954) on Friday January 23 2015, @04:17PM (#137287) Journal

        Carry your cash on your person.
        Get multiple wallets if necessary.

        In many areas, if you're stopped for even a simple traffic violation you get a pat-down automatically. I've been given pat-downs for 5MPH over the speed limit -- and they never even issued a citation. Searched me, asked if I had any drugs or guns in the car (but didn't search it) and sent me on my way. Keep it on your person, they'll DEFINITELY find it. Keep it in your car, they MIGHT find it.

        If you must carry it, just keep it well hidden. If it's on your person, you might need to make use of some...cavities.