Post by Logan on Jul 9, 2016 4:04:52 GMT -6
Utah police seized nearly $1.9 million in cash in recent years from people under a law allowing law enforcement to take someone's property even if a person isn't charged or convicted of a crime, a state report shows.
Nearly all of the seizures came during investigations of alleged drug crimes and most involved amounts of cash ranging from $500 to $2,500, a report that was released this month showed. The largest cash seizure was $157,000.
The report is the first of its kind offering a picture of the seizures Utah police made. The report covers cases that were reported by police in 2015. Some of the seizures may have occurred several years earlier but were not resolved until last year.
States around the country have been scrutinizing their forfeiture laws in recent years as civil liberties groups and others highlighted abuses where police raked in cash and property despite hazy connections to a purported crime.
Read more: www.sltrib.com/news/4095734-155/utah-police-seized-19m-in-cash
Nearly all of the seizures came during investigations of alleged drug crimes and most involved amounts of cash ranging from $500 to $2,500, a report that was released this month showed. The largest cash seizure was $157,000.
The report is the first of its kind offering a picture of the seizures Utah police made. The report covers cases that were reported by police in 2015. Some of the seizures may have occurred several years earlier but were not resolved until last year.
States around the country have been scrutinizing their forfeiture laws in recent years as civil liberties groups and others highlighted abuses where police raked in cash and property despite hazy connections to a purported crime.
Read more: www.sltrib.com/news/4095734-155/utah-police-seized-19m-in-cash