Drug Enforcement's Double-Edged Sword: An Assessment of Asset Forfeiture Programs (From Drug Use and Drug Policy, P 245-267, 1997, Marilyn McShane, Frank P. Williams, III, eds. - See NCJ-168395)

• NCJ Number: 168409
• Author(s): J M Miller; L H Selva
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 23 pages
• Sale Source: Garland Publishing, Inc.
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC

Annotation

This study is an empirical examination of asset forfeiture as a tool of drug enforcement policy.

Abstract

The study is based on 12 months of covert participant observation in undercover narcotics operations in a southern State. It assesses contemporary methods of narcotics policing at two vital points: case selection and police conduct. The study differs from previous work in this area in that it examines implementation of the laws from within forfeiture programs, explaining experientially rather than speculatively why and how one aspect of the drug war has gone astray. The study includes a survey of the literature, focusing on the legal basis of forfeiture policy and describing the extent of its use. It also presents major criticisms regarding problematic aspects of asset forfeiture programs. Findings suggest that asset forfeiture is a dysfunctional policy which, in implementation, has strayed from its original intent and has incurred unintended consequences. Although forfeiture programs generate income, they also cause drug enforcement to serve functions that are inherently contradictory and often at odds with the demands of justice. References, cases cited