So according to the article, because the intent behind the program (seizing the criminal element) is flawless, the program is ok, even if its methods are not.

Horsesh*t

 

Avoiding the sticky fingers of greedy and immoral agencies and politicians is the reason I don't have large sums of cash and nothing to do with having a mortgage, kids, college tuition, etc., etc.

 

So just having money creates a reason to seize it, that's seriously screwed up. I don't fit the profile, ie I'm white, but still offended that this is going on.

Why would anyone consent to a search on the side of the road...rhetorical question.

 

So just having money creates a reason to seize it, that's seriously screwed up. I don't fit the profile, ie I'm white, but still offended that this is going on.

Why would anyone consent to a search on the side of the road...rhetorical question.

Free money. what is not to like? except for the stoppee.

Consent? Oh, I don't know. Ignorance of the law. Not able to understand the language. Officer getting in your face repeatedly. Dubious dog sniffing results. (wonder at the high percentage of failures by dogs. Hmmmm. that is an odd sock).

Imagine the scenario of a woman with young children going to make a major cash purchase in that situation. Give money or get arrested, taken to jail and kids to social services. Could very well happen.

Wasn't there a recent thread here about a member who refused a search and was held for a couple of hours by the side of the road after he refused a search request and told them to get a warrant. After waiting , he was just told to go on his way.

 

Its not just cash. Homes and nice cars have also become a target. There was an article this weekend about a set of parents whose adult son was arrested for drug possession. I forget what drug but the article said it had a street value of $40. A couple of weeks later the police show up with paperwork to seize the parents house under the pretense that the house was bought with drug money since the son had lived there (with the parents) at one time.

 

This is all just ludicrous.

 

The underlying idea was to seize the assets of high-end members of the drug trade. Not just put them in prison, but take everything so that the next in the chain got nothing. Like many "good" ideas, the system took it way too far. You see when they file charges against property they can do as they please since the property is not a person and has no rights. In today's world of tight budgets, many departments use these confiscations (which they call forfeitures) to pad their budgets. In fact, I know of one department in the Carolinas that plans for a certain amount of forfeiture income when they do their budget for the next year.

 

Every large sum of money I've seen or heard about being seized is not claimed by the people driving with it. So the officer does a search, valid or not not relevant to this story, they find no drugs but 100k dollars officer ask if it's their money they say no. So they usually sign something to the extent that it's not their money and it's seized. If they want to claim it they have to show documentation of them paying taxes on said money or paper trail why they have cash.

I'm neither defending this nor condoning the practice it is just what I've seen or heard about.

The one case I remember was a guy from Cleveland driving a stolen car that had multiple felony drug convictions north bound 77 with aprox 150k that was not his in a hidden compartment in the car.

The car was reported stolen after it went off it's programmed course and was a Tahoe with onstar that reported it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Read the articles about Tenaha, TX. There is was a major racket and basically the line was "we confiscate your money and drop the charges".

 

Louisiana has been doing this along I10 long before 9/11.

 

If there aren't any violations of the law, I'm not sure what what business it should be of the authorities where the cash came from.

I'm sure that some of these confiscation may be legitimate, but it puts the citizen in the position of having to prove his innocence.

 

Can't take it with me if I don't have it!

 

From somebody who carries large amounts of cash every day, this is bull $#!+. Why does it matter how I got it. It's mine. I keep it because you never know when you'll find a deal. I've found some of the best deals when I wasn't lookin. They'd have to get a warrant to know I had it.