The level of civil asset forfeitures by law enforcement agencies in Florida is the highest in the nation, amounting to $11,558 in revenues per 1,000 people, according to a newly released study on the practice.
A report from the Institute for Justice found that Florida finished first among 43 states analyzed. The civil-asset-forfeiture process allows law enforcement to seize residents’ cash, homes, cars and other personal property when it is suspected of being associated with a crime, even though no one has been criminally charged or convicted.
The median forfeiture amount in Florida’s forfeiture cases is also the highest in the country: $4,500. And an estimated 38 percent of civil asset forfeiture cases in the state are considered not worth fighting in court, since the cost of hiring an attorney to deal with even the most straightforward cases is at least $3,000, according to the Institute for Justice.
Senior research analyst Jennifer McDonald
In 2016, Florida did pass some reforms to the asset-forfeiture process, including a requirement that civil assets can be seized only when the likelihood that the assets are linked to criminal behavior is beyond “reasonable doubt,” according to Jennifer McDonald, a senior research analysis with the institute and an author of the report, titled “Policing for Profit.”
Even so, the result of the policy is that agencies have a financial incentive to take advantage of citizens who are not convicted of any crimes, according to the report.
“The major problem with Florida and other states is that law enforcement gets to keep a huge portion of the proceeds,” McDonald told the Florida Record.
Florida needs to pass additional legislation to ensure the process does not result in abuse, she said.
Civil-asset forfeiture in Florida should be eliminated altogether, according to McDonald, in order to protect due-process rights. In addition, she said the state needs to stop participating in the U.S. Justice Department’s Equitable Sharing Program, which can be used to seize assets through civil actions and circumvent state laws.
“To truly reform forfeiture practices in Florida, the legislature is going to have to get rid of both systems,” McDonald said.
Florida’s 2016 asset-forfeiture reforms require law enforcement to pay a $1,000 filing fee and post a bond to begin the forfeiture process – something that likely encourages law enforcement agencies to focus on higher-value assets, according to the report.
Unique features about Florida communities also don’t explain the state’s reliance on asset forfeiture, according to McDonald.
“Florida’s high population and high presence of drugs and drug crimes do not account for that,” she said. “... It’s a disproportionate use of forfeiture in Florida.”