Message from Lobbyist: Vote against bill #SB44

#SB44 – A Bill to Outlaw Civil Asset Forfeiture

• Under current state law police authorities are allowed to obtain property they believe to be involved in illegal activity. Under Civil Asset Forfeiture a person does not have to be charged with a crime to have their possessions seized. Upon passage of this bill law enforcement would no longer reserve the right to take citizens assets without finding the accused guilty of a crime. It is apparent that the benefits of this bill outweigh the negatives. I strongly urge all legislators to vote in favor of this bill in both House and Senate.
• Nationally:
  • In 2014, for the first time ever, law enforcement officers took more property from American citizens than burglars did.
    
  • Last year, according to the Institute for Justice, the Treasury and Justice departments deposited more than $5 billion into their respective asset forfeiture funds. That same year, the FBI reports that burglary losses topped out at $3.5 billion (however the FBI also tracks property losses from larceny and theft)
    
  • If you add up all the property stolen in 2014, from burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and other means, you arrive at roughly $12.3 billion, according to the FBI. That’s more than double the federal asset forfeiture haul.
    
  • The federal totals don’t reflect how much property is seized by state and local police each year. Reliable data for all 50 states is unavailable, but the Institute of Justice found that the total asset forfeiture haul for 14 states topped $250 million in 2013. The grand 50-state total would probably be much higher.
    
• State:
  • Alabama law enforcement agencies have collected millions of dollars since 2000 through a program that allows them to keep 80 to 100% of the seized property.
    
  • Alabama’s civil forfeiture laws are among the worst in the nation.
    
  • Alabama ranks 31st in regards to Federal Forfeiture.