2014: US cops seized more through asset forfeiture than US crooks stole through burglary

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Wow, that info will make you sleep soundly at night.

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There’s not a slow clap slow enough to properly acknowledge this headline.

At least if some random person not employed by my municipality breaks into my house and steals some stuff the loss is covered by my homeowner’s insurance. Not so much if the Gang in Blue does the same.

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Hah! Suck it crooks, the boys in blue win again!

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I’m really beginning to wonder exactly what level of crime will it take before we as a nation realize the foxes are “guarding” the henhouse?

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I expect the government would like to crack down on this. This information, that is.

After all, we all surely know that if you let the US public have access to this information, they will be frightened and make poor choices, so it’s clearly a necessary public service to withhold the data*. It’s just like GMO labeling and gun safety research! THE PUBLIC MUST BE PROTECTED FROM INFORMATION!

* If that sounds wrong to you, just remember 9-11! 9-11! 9-11! until you are too scared to question why you should be protected from being scared.

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[quote=“rasmussen_bryan, post:4, topic:69700, full:true”]
Hah! Suck it crooks, the boys in blue win again!
[/quote]You say that like they’re not the same people?

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Come on burglars! Step up your game! How does it feel when the cops are beating you?

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Tastes like bullets.

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Looks like the USA has a rival feudal guerilla power in charge, using the old-fashioned ways of collecting its taxes.

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Title is self contradictory. How can you steal more than you stole?

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I’m pretty surprised the numbers aren’t more skewed towards cops.

So how long until it’s legal to shoot them in self-defense? It’s legal to do so to burglars if they’re armed and threatening you, and that description sounds pretty appropriate for a cop.

Just kidding! Defending yourself from a cop, violently or otherwise, will obviously never be legal, but they can steal, kidnap, murder and maim as much as they like because, hey, they’re the good guys and we’re just faceless, subhuman “potential threats” for them to fear and shoot.

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The vast majority of burglary doesn’t involve big scores. It’s a crackhead stealing your car stereo, not Danny Ocean & co. emptying out casino safes. Even bank robbers only get what’s in the teller’s drawer, not pallets of gold bullion and bearer bonds.*

Asset forfeiture, OTOH, is cars and boats and real estate and fat stacks. They’re not going to bother taking your wedding ring, except maybe as a bonus “fuck you.”

*ETA robberies are probably not counted as burglaries, come to think of it.

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Well, consider where most Americans get their news on henhouse-related crime these days.

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The problem is that police get to keep the assets they seize. Worse then that, in some states the officer that seizes the assets gets to keep a large percentage of the assets they seize it doesn’t even all go to the department. This is what is known as a conflict of interest.

So are most ticketing and bylaw schemes. Anytime the police can use their force/power to extract money you have setup a strong conflict of interest. We need to make all these types of “fundraising” illegal.

Right now we basically have a Sheriff of Nottingham situation on our hands!

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… so you are saying they get even more because they don’t have to fence/launder it?

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Yup. Just like mercenaries with a commission from the king.

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We should be able to get the fiscal conservatives onboard with us on this too.

Probably all we’d have to do is start yelling “Perverse Incentive” over and over.

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Point’s already been made, but came here to say FIFY…

    "2014: US cops seized more through asset forfeiture than *other* US crooks stole through burglary"
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