Police Documents Show Forfeitures In Michigan Resemble Curbside
Shakedowns

     -- by Tom Flook, F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol 2. No. 1, (November,
1993)

     According to documents obtained under the Freedom of
Information Act by the Michigan Association for Preservation of
Property (M.A.P.P.),  during 1992 law enforcement agencies in
Michigan used civil forfeiture 9,770 times to confiscate an average
of $1,434 per seizure .  (Seizures between January 1 and December
31 totaled $14,007,227; up from $11,848,547 in 1991.)  These
include:

     54 homes (up from 29 homes in 1991) with an average reported
value of $15,881.

     807 cars with an average reported value of $1,412. 

     $9,225,515 in cash and negotiable instruments.  An average
value cannot be calculated because most agencies do not itemize
cash seizures. 

     $2,754,818 of personal property.  An average value cannot be
calculated because most agencies do not itemize personal property
seizures. 

     Combined, there were 8909 reported cash and personal property
seizures, with an average value of $1,348 per seizure.  These
non-itemized seizures netted Michigan law enforcement agencies over
$12 million.

     In 1991, the Michigan Office of Drug Control Policy stated
that many forfeitures are not contested because owners, "often have
no legitimate source of income high enough to have legally obtained
the property seized."  However, the documents obtained by M.A.P.P.
demonstrate that, in actuality, most civil forfeitures are not
contested because the value of the seized property is not high
enough to justify the minimum $5,000 to $10,000 cost of fighting a
civil forfeiture. 

     There is no way of knowing how many uncontested seizures were
never reported because there are no accountability requirements
built into civil forfeiture 

     Of the 123 agencies reporting civil forfeiture activity, only
Muskegon Police Narcotics Department presented anything resembling
a comprehensive account.  It is the only agency that reported the
amount of drugs seized or the number of arrests made.  No agency
made any mention of convictions obtained. 

     Muskegon police performed 82 seizures, netting $63,126.  The
average value was $770.  They seized: 

     18 cars worth $7,250, or an average value of $402. 

     1 home with a reported value of $6,200. 

     16 bundles of personal property worth a reported value of
$18,176, for an average of $1,136 per occurrence.  Only 4 bundles
were worth more than the average. 

     72 seizures of cash and negotiable instruments totaling
$31,199, for an average amount of $433.  Only 5 of the seizures
were for more than $1,000.

     As in the statewide statistics, we're talking real drug
kingpin stuff here 

     Though agencies continue to suggest that civil forfeitures
target the estates, yachts, and cash hordes of "drug kingpins,"
obviously, most civil forfeitures in Michigan are not much more
than curb side shakedowns.  

     Äby Tom Flook
__________________

Editor's note:

     Thank-you, Tom, for uncovering the statistics from your state
which prove the truth many suspected.  We encourage readers to
obtain reports regarding assets seized from citizens in their
states, cities and counties.  Please send results to: Judy Osburn,
Star Rt. 1 Box 165, Maricopa, CA 93252.