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That same year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Transportation Security Administration seized retiree Terry Rolin's life savings of $82,373 from his daughter as she passed through Pittsburgh International Airport on her way to open a joint bank account for him. Three years earlier and about 1,000 miles away, a sheriff's deputy in rural Muskogee, Oklahoma, seized more than $53,000 from Eh Wah, the tour manager for a Burmese Christian musical act, during a routine traffic stop; the funds were concert proceeds and donations intended to support Burmese Christian refugees and Thai orphans. None of these victims were convicted of any crime. Their stories illustrate a nationwide problem: civil forfeiture. Civil forfeiture allows police to seize property on the mere suspicion that it is involved in criminal activity. Prosecutors can then forfeit, or permanently keep, the property without ever charging its owner with a crime. By contrast, criminal forfeiture requires prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an owner is guilty of a crime and then, in the same proceeding, prove the property is connected to the crime. As this report demonstrates, the cases of Stephanie Wilson, Terry Rolin and Eh Wah are not isolated incidents: Local, state and federal agencies use civil forfeiture to collectively forfeit billions of dollars each year. [policing-f] Policing for Profit Introduction Executive Summary Gathering Nationwide Data to Study Forfeiture Forfeiture is Lucrative for Governments Nationwide Forfeiture is Hard for Owners, Easy for the Government Civil Forfeiture Laws Fail to Protect Property Owners Equitable Sharing Creates a Giant Loophole Evidence Suggests Forfeiture Doesn't Work Barriers to Forfeiture Reform Conclusion and Recommendations Appendices Data Sources About the Report View State Profiles [State ] Download PDF View Report Press Release Check out this report's press release and contact our media team member for additional information. J. Justin Wilson Senior Director of Communications jwilson@ij.org Press Release New Report Finds Civil Forfeiture Rakes in Billions Each Year, Does Not Fight Crime * J. Justin Wilson * December 15, 2020 ARLINGTON, Va.--Nationwide, civil forfeiture laws put innocent property owners at risk and encourage law enforcement to police for profit, with billions of dollars forfeited each year. So finds the latest edition of "Policing for Profit: The [...] Related Reports [Cover] Civil Forfeiture | Private Property Frustrating, Corrupt, Unfair Victims of civil forfeiture call it frustrating, corrupt and unfair. This first-of-its-kind survey describes the experiences of victims of one civil forfeiture program, Philadelphia's. * September 28, 2021 [Does-Forfe] Civil Forfeiture | Private Property Does Forfeiture Work? Forfeiture is a controversial tool police and prosecutors use to take and keep people's cash, cars and even homes under the guise of fighting crime. This study is the first to look at whether state... * February 10, 2021 [Fighting-C] Civil Forfeiture | Private Property Fighting Crime or Raising Revenue? Forfeiture is a controversial tool governments use to take and keep property often without charging or convicting anyone with a crime. Police typically get a portion of the proceeds. Proponents argue forfeiture helps police fight... * June 7, 2019 [file-cabin] Civil Forfeiture | Private Property Forfeiture Transparency & Accountability Every year, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies across the United States seize and keep billions of dollars in cash, cars, homes and other property using a legal tool called forfeiture. Criminal forfeiture requires... * January 16, 2017 [policing-f] Civil Forfeiture | Private Property Policing for Profit: Second Edition Civil forfeiture laws pose some of the greatest threats to property rights in the nation today, too often making it easy and lucrative for law enforcement to take and keep property--regardless of the owner's guilt... * November 10, 2015 Policing for Profit: First Edition Civil Forfeiture | Private Property Policing for Profit: First Edition Civil forfeiture laws represent one of the most serious assaults on private property rights in the nation today. Under civil forfeiture, police and prosecutors can seize your car or other property, sell it and use... * March 1, 2010 Policing and Prosecuting for Profit Civil Forfeiture | Private Property Policing and Prosecuting for Profit In 2002, New Jersey's Carol Thomas made headlines after her teenage son used her 1990 Ford Thunderbird to sell marijuana to an undercover police officer. He was arrested, pled guilty and faced his punishment. However,... * November 1, 2004 See More State Grades * A's * B's * C's * D's * F's Civil forfeiture laws generally make it easy for governments to forfeit property--and hard for people to fight. As this report documents, these laws typically set low standards of proof, which is the evidentiary burden prosecutors must meet to connect property to a crime. And they provide weak protections for innocent owners whose property is caught up in forfeiture but who have done nothing wrong. Most forfeiture laws also make seizing and forfeiting people's property lucrative for law enforcement. In most states and under federal law, some or all of the proceeds from forfeiture go to law enforcement coffers. Thus, Wayne County law enforcement, federal law enforcement and Muskogee County law enforcement stood to benefit financially from forfeiting Stephanie's cars and Terry's and Eh Wah's cash. Giving law enforcement this financial stake in forfeiture can distort priorities, encouraging agencies to pursue financial gain over public safety or justice, cash over crime or contraband.^4 Together, civil forfeiture's ease and financial rewards drive its use nationwide. Despite the billions generated, our data indicate the typical individual cash forfeiture is relatively small--only a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. This suggests that, aside from a few high-profile cases, forfeiture often does not target drug kingpins or big-time financial fraudsters. More than that, the data show why it often makes little economic sense for property owners to fight. The cost of hiring an attorney--a virtual necessity in navigating complex civil forfeiture processes, where there is generally no right to counsel--often outweighs the value of seized property. This is why Stephanie abandoned her first car. Still, many small forfeitures such as hers can make a great deal of economic sense for law enforcement. In just two years, the Wayne County forfeiture program that claimed Stephanie's car generated $1.2 million in revenue from 2,600 cars. - Click to See Distribution of Forfeitures Stay Informed Sign up to receive IJ's biweekly digital magazine, Liberty & Law, along with breaking updates about our fight to protect the rights of all Americans. * Name* [ ] First [ ] Last * Email [ ] * Yes, I want a hard copy, too! + [ ] Yes, send me the magazine by mail, too! * Address [ ] Street Address [ ] City [State / Province ] State [ ] ZIP Code * * * * * * * * * CAPTCHA * Comments [ ] This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. 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