“Still, boil down all the numbers and caveats above and you arrive at a simple fact: In the United States, in 2014, more cash and property transferred hands via civil asset forfeiture than via burglary. The total value of asset forfeitures was more than one-third of the total value of property stolen by criminals in 2014. That represents something of a sea change in the way police do business — and it’s prompting plenty of scrutiny of the practice.”
From: Law enforcement took more stuff from people than burglars did last year – The Washington Post
Isn’t this old?
(No disagreement with the facts or what I believe to be your reasons for posting it, of course)Report
Hmm… it does appear that way. I got it via a link aggregator which usually only says recent stuff. I missed the dateline. Thanks for pointing that out.Report
“and it’s prompting plenty of scrutiny of the practice.”
Not enough scrutiny damn it!Report
Why is this even news? If the cops forfeit one Mercedes, boat or plane, it’s probably worth more then ten burglaries given the that average burglary doesn’t get that much.Report
Oh, well now you put it that way, that’s alright then.Report
That doesn’t make it allright, but it makes it…kind of a trivial point. A burglar cannot steal your actual home. He generally can’t freeze your bank accounts and drain them.
A guy robbing your house is gonna get away with jewelry and electronics. A government seizing your house is going to get all that PLUS the house (which is generally worth several times more, not even counting the contents a thief can’t steal without moving truck and a dolly).
I get the comparison for shock value, but in terms of fruitful discussion — it doesn’t add much. The desirability and limits of civil forfeiture are a conversation about powers of government — the total amount seized is pretty much beside the point. (Even as an example of “too much!” — a big bust of a drug lord is going to net a lot of cash, for instance. Even if the drugs get burnt and the guns destroyed, that’s still a lot of dollar signs seized).
I say this as someone who firmly feels that asset forfeiture has gone off the deep end, and it has metastasized into crap like Ferguson — where police and courts became tariff farmings, taking every penny they could from a captive citizenry (Even if they had to make up the crime).Report
Put it what way? My post doesn’t make any commentary on whether forfeiture is good or bad. I only commented on the fact that the comparison is silly and doesn’t tell the reader anything truly informative. Maybe the authors and Kazzy think hyperbole can sway peoples’ opinion.Report