I’ve written on civil asset forfeiture a lot lately and in response to my latest article, BC Civil Asset Forfeiture Office Proud to Steal From Mere Citizens, I received a email from Zoey DeGarmo asking if I would post an information graphic on my website.

The infographic, created by ArrestRecords.com, goes into great detail of the abuses of civil asset forfeiture laws across the United States. That graphic is below.

Some of the “low-lights” of civil asset forfeiture enforcement include, but are not limited to:

• Most state and federal legislation laws allows law enforcement to keep up to 90% of what they take from citizens.
• Only 8 states do not allow law enforcement to keep any of the proceeds
• 26 states allow law enforcement to keep 100% of the assets they seize
• In only 6 states must the government prove you are guilty of a crime before seizing your property. (Actually, this is now 7 as Minnesota just enacted civil forfeiture reform that requires government to prove guilt.)
• From 1990 to 2005 the value of assets seized was relatively consistent at between $300 – $500 million
• In 2006 this jumped to $841 million and that number has risen ever since
• Despite 74% of we mere citizens believing property owners should be presumed innocent the vast majority of civil asset forfeiture laws, including all those here in Canada, presume you are guilty, even if you are never arrested of charged with an offense.

an infographic from ArrestRecords.com