Study Shows Asset Forfeiture Doesn't Fight Crime Or Reduce Drug Use - Tim Cushing, Techdirt:
June 14, 2019 - "Many law enforcement officials may actually believe the [bs] they spill in defense of taking property from people without convicting them of crimes. .... Fortunately, those opposed to the abusive practice will have even more facts to work with, thanks to a new study [PDF] by Dr. Brian D. Kelly of the Institute for Justice [IJ]....
"[T]hat forfeiture cripples drug dealers and cartels – also has no factual basis.... Using the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) carried out by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the IJ found no correlation between asset forfeiture and reductions in drug use, suggesting drugs are still just as easy to obtain....
June 14, 2019 - "Many law enforcement officials may actually believe the [bs] they spill in defense of taking property from people without convicting them of crimes. .... Fortunately, those opposed to the abusive practice will have even more facts to work with, thanks to a new study [PDF] by Dr. Brian D. Kelly of the Institute for Justice [IJ]....
More equitable sharing funds do not translate into more crimes solved [Dr. Kelly writes]. This suggests that despite claims forfeiture turns criminals’ cash into more resources for law enforcement, the additional revenue is not improving overall police effectiveness in crime fighting. More equitable sharing funds also do not mean less drug use, even though proponents argue forfeiture helps rid the streets of drugs by financially crippling drug dealers and cartels...."That ... forfeiture allows agencies to purchase the tech and tools they need to fight crime successfully – is disproven by the lack of results..... Using law enforcement data, the IJ can't find any link between asset forfeiture and law enforcement efficiency.....
"[T]hat forfeiture cripples drug dealers and cartels – also has no factual basis.... Using the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) carried out by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the IJ found no correlation between asset forfeiture and reductions in drug use, suggesting drugs are still just as easy to obtain....
[Of [t]The four NSDUH drug use measures I used were (1) use of any illicit drug in the previous year, (2) marijuana use in the previous year, (3) nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers in the previous year and (4) cocaine use in the previous year. For none of these illicit drug use measures did I find increases in equitable sharing proceeds led to subsequent reductions in use. In short, to the extent forfeiture advocates hope increasing enforcement through forfeiture will reduce drug use, this does not appear to be happening...."What the report did find is something unexpected: the more financially-stressed an area is, the more likely it is law enforcement will make it worse. Forfeitures increase as unemployment increases, suggesting financially-strapped agencies are stepping up forfeiture efforts to make up for budget shortfalls.
In every case, I found that higher unemployment predicted more equitable sharing activity..... For equitable sharing overall ... a 1 percentage point increase in unemployment was associated with an 8.5 percentage point increase in the value of forfeited assets and a 9.5 percentage point increase in the number of assets seized...."The study confirms what's always been suspected: asset forfeiture directly enriches law enforcement agencies but provides zero benefit to the communities the agencies serve."
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