Holder limits seized-asset sharing process that split billions with local, state police

[name not needed]

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Friday barred local and state police from using federal law to seize cash, cars and other property without evidence that a crime occurred.

Holder’s action represents the most sweeping check on police power to confiscate personal property since the seizures began three decades ago as part of the war on drugs.

Since 2008, thousands of local and state police agencies have made more than 55,000 seizures of cash and property worth $3 billion under a civil asset forfeiture program at the Justice Department called Equitable Sharing.

The program has enabled local and state police to make seizures and then have them “adopted” by federal agencies, which share in the proceeds. The program allowed police departments and drug task forces to keep up to 80 percent of the proceeds of the adopted seizures, with the rest going to federal agencies.

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

[Rex]

1. Thank you for cutting the money train to these out of control PDs!

The incentive was never to actually fight some mythical war against drugs...it is and always will be about MONEY. The incentive has caused PDs to arrest people for profit and not for criminal activity. To make revenue.

Big move on Holders part and there will be blowback from spoiled rotten PDs with their military toys to fight some war they don't even believe in.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. If Holder can stop it, then it was not a law?

And if it was not a law, by what authority were the cops doing this?

Let the law suits begin....

[Igel]

8. That is the question.

If it's a law, can it be so easily overriden by a speech act of one man?

If it's not a law, could the practice be so easily instated by the speech act of one man?

All the rest boils down to "good for my team" or "bad for their team."

[Octafish]

3. This seems like an excellent crime statistic area of interest.

You know, how much loot got stolen from the little people.

[Malraiders]

4. Texas has its own "civil" asset seizure laws that the ACLU has

fought and won cases against where merely the possesion of money in the form of cash was justification for seizure by the local gang of theiving LEOs because they reasoned that cash money must aloways have been acquired by selling drugs.

[bpj62]

5. Forfeiture Laws

This is why the DEA and many local law enforcement agencies are against the legalization laws. in some states the police don't bust you for small amounts of marijuana but they take your cash, the car you were in and anything else of value that is in the crime scene. the cars and other items are sold at auction and the cash, well who knows where it goes. The DOJ cannot appear to be anti cop but they can choose to enforce laws that make it harder for the police to enrich themselves at the expense of people who do not have the resources to fight back. This is going to hurt many southern police departments that routinely pull people of color over on the highways and then say they smelled marijuana and search the vehicle and the occupants. We are reaching a tipping point in regards to the state and counties being able to fund public services because the tax revenue is so low. Problem is instead of realizing that we have a revenue problem and raising taxes the local legislatures will simply increase fees and fines.

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. 2/3 of all arrests in our county result in posting bail

and if it gets to court, fines.
Only murder and sex abuse results in instant detention.

In fact, many arrests are repeat offenders who are out on bail.
Eventually they get plead down, assessed a fine and are released.

Then, once a year notices appear in the newspaper of the names of everyone who owes fines, with the promise that if they step forward, and pay their fines,
they will not be arrested for jumping bail, or failure to appear on the old fines.
That is the carrot.
The stick follows a week later...warrants.
How many of the warrants are duly served vs. those which are written out, hard to say. The weekly paper only prints arrest reports.

The big arrests this week were for 3 different cases of 3 men stealing ....pecans.
One was shot by the owner of the pecan store.
The other 2 were released on bail.

And the beat goes on.

[tridim]

6. Another huge pre-legalization move by the administration.

It's happening!

[HappyMe]

7. Good!

I didn't even realize that this kind of crap was going on.