Liberty Sanders On Asset Forfeiture

[ArmedProgrammer]

Abso frickin looty. Why should anyone get to keep assets they obtain illegally.
If I steal your car and I am convicted of theft should you get your car back? I think I should be able to keep your car. You know how hard it is to steal a modern vehicle? All my hard work wasted for nothing?

Is it so hard for you to see that it's a LOT more credible for proceeds from any forfeited property to go to some other entity??? And not to the ones that have a hand in selecting what gets seized? No one here is saying that illegally obtained assets should be kept. Just that they shouldn't be given to those with an incentive to do wrong. NOTE that I said INCENTIVE. NOT that doing such was in their character. Just that it puts the incentive in the wrong place.

Your answer above, sir, indicates that you may be stirring the or you are intentionally misstating things. Why would you have a problem with proceeds going to some other community entity - say schools for example? After all, it's a tiny portion of your budget by your own admission... oh, that's right, it's just BONUS - not budget.. And the lottery money is BONUS for the schools to, right?? <cough> iguana <cough>

I'm not anti-LEO in the slightest. If I was a LEO, though, I would WELCOME Liberty's suggestion to send it to the schools. Why ? It would eliminate even the APPEARANCE of a conflict of interest. Why sir, do you see that as a bad thing?

 

[level.eleven]

I'm not anti-LEO in the slightest. If I was a LEO, though, I would WELCOME Liberty's suggestion to send it to the schools. Why ? It would eliminate even the APPEARANCE of a conflict of interest. Why sir, do you see that as a bad thing?

This is actually how Indiana law on the matter is written. The seized money is supposed to to schools minus the cost of law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies and prosecutors were contending they needed 100% of the seized funds. Combined with some other questionable practices outlined in the article, Marion County was able to make a haul of around $2 Million last year.

In addition, contrary to what one person in the thread seems to believe, asset forfeiture funds are necessary budgetary contributions in order to maintain certain programs - like the United Drug Task Force.

Here is the Indy Star piece.

Forfeiture law invites abuse of the system | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com

 

[ArmedProgrammer]

From a reading of that article - it sounds like a few counties have been errrr... creative in their accounting. If I was that creative in the accounting of my business - the the IRS would be all over my keister... just sayin'.

My opinion stands. If I was in the business of law enforcement, I would use the budget I was given. If seizure/forfeited money happened, I would want 100% of it to go to some other entity. That way there is NO appearance of impropriety nor any perverse incentive. My honor, and the confidence of the citizens that would be asked to trust my department/county/whatever are worth more than any gain that might be had from the forfeited property. Even the "Accounting for the Cost" method leaves a perverse incentive. Apparently Keyser Soze takes a different view.

 

[mrjarrell]

There's no care given to the "appearance of impropriety" by departments or many individuals. They can get away with pretty much anything, anyway, so why worry about what it looks like? A few may care, but it's painfully obvious that many just don't. That's why we have highway robbery occurring in this and other states.

 

[PeaShooter]

I seem to remember a 20/20 or similar show a few years back doing an expose on County Sheriffs on I-10 in the South. They had a setup where they would seize expensive cars and money of people passing through, knowing that they didn't live there and would have a hard time fighting the seizure long distance. Some of the deputies were sitting in the medians on their days off because they got a cut of anything they seized.

Just saying that this is a national problem, not just an Indiana problem.

Abso frickin looty. Why should anyone get to keep assets they obtain illegally.
If I steal your car and I am convicted of theft should you get your car back? I think I should be able to keep your car. You know how hard it is to steal a modern vehicle? All my hard work wasted for nothing?

So, because someone steals my car...and you catch him...you get to keep my car? I would hate for you not to get "paid" for all of your hard work...

I also noticed the use of the word "loot" in your reply. One wonders if it was a Freudian slip.....

 

[mrjarrell]

I seem to remember a 20/20 or similar show a few years back doing an expose on County Sheriffs on I-10 in the South. They had a setup where they would seize expensive cars and money of people passing through, knowing that they didn't live there and would have a hard time fighting the seizure long distance. Some of the deputies were sitting in the medians on their days off because they got a cut of anything they seized.

Just saying that this is a national problem, not just an Indiana problem.




So, because someone steals my car...and you catch him...you get to keep my car? I would hate for you not to get "paid" for all of your hard work...

I also noticed the use of the word "loot" in your reply. One wonders if it was a Freudian slip.....

Willing to bet you're thinking of this one. Not only was it theft, it was race based theft. They robbed people whom they knew wouldn't have the assets to fight back. They eventually were caught and suits were filed. The judge was unhappy, to say the least.

Highway robbery? Texas police seize black motorists' cash, cars - chicagotribune.com

IJ Files Asset Forfeiture Suit in Texas - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine

 

[level.eleven]

Oh yeah. That was the case where the casino was right across state lines so our "public servants" would sit and wait for someone leaving the casino. Good racket, Capone would be proud.

 

[jsharmon7]

My opinion is that whatever the cops are doing is wrong and must be changed. This is my stance on everything LEO related.

 

[NYFelon]

implied purple?

 

[Liberty Sanders]

Hmmmmm...I wonder if Governor Daniels read my letter?

 

[Hotdoger]

Hmmmmm...I wonder if Governor Daniels read my letter?

I would hope so, but would like to think he actually understands the Indiana Constitution instead.