The problem is, civil forfeiture has a pretty low bar. It doesn't require that you be convicted for anything. The short-term pernicious result? It incents law enforcement officials to essentially steal your car, your money, your goods as "criminal proceeds" with minimal judicial efforts, and little oversight as to where the money goes. It's literal highway robbery, usually invoked on minor traffic violations on out-of-state or rental cars, usually against minority drivers, and often couched as "Sign this paper to forfeit your 'criminally-gained' property, or else you'll be charged with criminal activity (and, if your children happen to be in the car with you, they'll be taken away)." In other cases, trivial vice law violations (or even just accusations) mean forfeitures of vehicles and whatever other property can be seized, proceeds going to the officers involved and their departments.
If that's not bad enough, there's an additional long-term pernicious result? The money raised becomes essential to law enforcement activities, even though the officials involved are aware of the corruption and injustices that occur.
'At a public hearing on July 11th, D.C.’s attorney general, Irvin Nathan, acknowledged “very real problems” relating to due-process rights. But he warned that millions of dollars raised by forfeiture “could very easily be lost” and “an unreasonable burden” placed on his office if the reforms supported by the Public Defender Service were enacted. He proposed more modest changes that would leave the current burden of proof untouched.
'“We all know the way things are right now—budgets are tight,” Steve Westbrook, the executive director of the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas, says. “It’s definitely a valuable asset to law enforcement, for purchasing equipment and getting things you normally wouldn’t be able to get to fight crime.” Many officers contend that their departments would collapse if the practice were too heavily regulated, and that a valuable public-safety measure would be lost.'
Short-version: "Yeah, it's not right, but we can't afford to stop doing it."
To protect and serve, indeed.
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