Based on laws that originated from the War on Drugs in the 1980s, police departments around the country are able to seize a person’s cash and property without charging them with a crime.
Civil forfeiture laws were created as a tool to cripple suspected criminals and drug rings, but police departments nationwide have been using this cash and property to fund their operations or even pay policemen directly.
The problem, is that in the vast majority of assets seizures, the individual is not charged with a crime. And once their cash and property are seized, getting it back is a prohibitively lengthy and expensive process.
WATCH NEXT:
The Ex-Undercover Cop Exposing the UK’s Police Corruption – http://bit.ly/2mJnBaG
Click here to subscribe to VICE: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE
Check out our full video catalog: http://bit.ly/VICE-Videos
Videos, daily editorial and more: http://vice.com
More videos from the VICE network: https://www.fb.com/vicevideo
Like VICE on Facebook: http://fb.com/vice
Follow VICE on Twitter: http://twitter.com/vice
Read our Tumblr: http://vicemag.tumblr.com
Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/vice
Check out our Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/vicemag
Download VICE on iOS: http://apple.co/28Vgmqz
Download VICE on Android: http://bit.ly/28S8Et0
source