Did you know that every year, Americans give billions of dollars in currency, vehicles, boats, real estate, and other assets?
The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 gave federal law enforcement agencies the power to seize property that they believe is connected to criminal activity. In 1986, federal forfeitures totaled only about $93.7 million. Today, it has grown by almost 5000% to over $4.5 billion with a B. So how dis we get here? Well, you remember the war on drugs program. That gave civil asset forfeiture a politicized reason for most federal law enforcement agencies, like the DEA, FBI, and US customs, the power to seize any property or conveyance that they believe might have been purchased with illegal proceeds or is used or intended to be used for a criminal purpose. But today’s civil forfeiture is turned into a literal cash cow to fund pet projects for local and federal law enforcement agencies. They receive most of the revenue generated, and it is not considered part of the tax budget. So the general public doesn’t hear about it. So this trend must stop. Visit forfeiturewatch.org.