Police Have the Power to Seize Your Property. See Why the Issue Is Uniting Democrats and Republicans.
Melissa Quinn / Alex Anderson /
A decades-old practice granting law enforcement agencies the power to seize property and money without a search warrant has Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill taking notice.
Through civil forfeiture, law enforcement agencies have made 55,000 seizures of cash and property worth $3 billion since 2008.
Civil asset forfeiture is a procedure that gives law enforcement agencies the power to seize property if it’s suspected of being related to a crime.
In recent years, high-profile cases of law enforcement agencies taking property and money without a warrant have surfaced across America. Now, lawmakers in Washington are working to curb the practice.
Last month, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., introduced the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act of 2015. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal, Walberg talked about his plan and why he thinks it’s realistic to work with the Obama administration on the issue.
>>> Legislation Introduced to Curb Civil Forfeiture’s ‘Perverse’ Incentives