ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota law enforcement brought in more than $11 million in cash, cars and other property in 2018 via the state's civil forfeiture laws.
That's a three percent uptick from the previous year, according to a new report from State Auditor Julie Blaha.
"The revenue that Minnesota asset forfeiture generates isn’t particularly major at a statewide scale, but it does have an impact at the individual level," Blaha told reporters.
The law allows police to seize property if they believe it's being used to commit a crime. In 2018 there were more than 8,000 such civil forfeitures.
Blaha said vehicles accounted for more than 60 percent of the property seized through administrative asset forfeiture by police agencies, and 90 percent of the cases involved driving under the influence or drug arrests.
"So really is a story about drug and alcohol use and abuse," Blaha explained.
At least $1 million worth of the $11 million seized in 2018 was returned to the original owners. An additional $2 million went to banks to satisfy liens on the property before it was sold.
The dollar amounts in Blaha's report reflect only forfeited property that was sold by law enforcement, not the total value of evidence seized in all arrests and raids.
Asset forfeiture has been part of Minnesota law since 1971, and the State Auditor's office has been tracking the total take since 1992. It's difficult to make apples-to-apples comparisons because the laws have evolved over time.
Civil rights advocates have often raised questions about protecting the constitutional due process rights of those who lose their property this way.
"Forfeiture’s really a big deal in Minnesota because it really hits hardest for the people who can afford it the least," Benjamin Feist, chief programs officer for ACLU of Minnesota, told KARE.
"If you want to get a chance to get your own stuff back because it had nothing to do with this purported crime, you actually have to file a lawsuit against your own property in civil court, while you’re probably still in criminal proceedings,"
Some of the most significant consumer protections came in 2010, after some members of the Metro Gang Strike Force came under fire for keeping property and very loosely documenting what was taken in raids on homes.
But the ACLU is pressing state lawmakers to do away with civil forfeiture, which is done administratively and instead resolve property issues within the criminal courts.
"Your issue about whether your property should be returned to you or not would be dealt with in the criminal process instead of the civil courts," the ACLU's Feist explained.
"We think there would be a better case for justice if that’s taken care of in the same criminal proceeding."
Blaha noted that her report shows only part of the picture. It covers state and local law enforcement, so property seized by federal agencies isn't in the report.