“When Americans learn that law enforcement officials can take their property without convicting them of a crime, they are outraged and want the practice to stop,” said Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Scott Bullock. “This online initiative educates citizens about the pernicious practice of civil forfeiture and what they can do to fight back.”



Two fundamental problems lie at the heart of civil forfeiture laws. First, Americans are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but civil forfeiture turns that principle on its head. With civil forfeiture, your property is guilty until you can prove it innocent.



Moreover, as documented in IJ’s 2010 report, Policing for Profit, state and federal laws give police and prosecutors a direct incentive to seize and keep cash and property in order to pad their budgets. For example, investigators in Georgia found more than $700,000 in questionable expenses by Camden County’s sheriff between 2004 and 2008, including a $90,000 Dodge Viper and a $79,000 boat. In fact, only eight states prohibit law enforcement agencies from keeping the property they seize.



“Forfeiture reform is desperately needed in nearly all states and at the federal level,” continued Bullock. “People shouldn’t lose their property without being convicted of a crime, and law enforcement shouldn’t be able to profit from other people’s property. This online initiative provides citizens with the ability to learn about and become active in the fight against civil forfeiture in the courts of law, the court of public opinion, and at the grassroots.”