Pubdate: Mon, 10 Dec 2007
Source: Journal and Courier (IN)
Copyright: 2007 Federated Publications, Inc
Contact: http://www.jconline.com/services/forms/letter_to_editor.shtml
Website: http://www.jconline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1691
Author: Sophia Voravong
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

LAW OFFICERS PUT SEIZED ASSETS TO WORK FOR THEM

Tippecanoe County sheriff's deputy Jon Lendermon and  his new dog,
Marco, have been on dozens of calls since  the Dutch shepherd joined
the force in mid-October.

Marco, trained in narcotics detection, tracking and  apprehension, has
been made available to the Lafayette  and West Lafayette police
departments and even to help  search for a robbery suspect in Fountain
County.

"We've now got a bomb dog and four other canines,"  Lendermon said of
the sheriff's department. "That makes  one of us available 24/7."

Marco was purchased by the Tippecanoe County  prosecutor's office
through its asset forfeiture  program, which seizes money and property
from people  arrested with drugs. The funds are used for
crime-fighting efforts.

About $50,000 has been brought in this year under  prosecutor Pat
Harrington, who took office in January.

"When I took office, I wanted asset forfeiture to be a  priority," he
said. "The goal was to ramp up the  revenue from that source. We've
brought in an average  of $1,000 a week. That exceeded my
expectations."

Harrington said state law allows the prosecutor's  office to file a
civil complaint against anyone  arrested with narcotics to seize cash
the criminals  have on them or vehicles they are driving. Prosecutors
also may seize any property, such as electronics, that  the criminals
say they purchased with drug proceeds.

Otherwise, the money would be returned to the  offenders, he said. Any
money seized must go toward  purchasing equipment or paying for
training for law  enforcement.

"Why should we let drug dealers benefit from their  illegal activity?"
Harrington said. "Through this, we  can relieve some of the burden on
taxpayers. Every  penny helps."

As Harrington's chief deputy prosecutor, one of Kristen  McVey's main
duties is to review cases in which assets  may be seized. She's
instructed to go after cash  amounts big and small.

McVey said this requires strong communication with the  county's law
enforcement agencies because filings must  be made within six months.

Earlier this year, Harrington said he asked each police  department
head for wish list-items their agencies  needed.

The sheriff's department asked for another dog, which  was purchased
in August. Harrington also recently  bought a dog for the Purdue
University Police  Department. Each cost $10,900.

About $6,300 was used in March and April to buy GPS  tracking devices
for the state police and the Indiana  Department of Natural Resources
for use in their  vehicles.

The Lafayette Police Department received 13 Taser guns,  which cost
about $14,000. Officers recently went  through training on how to
properly handle the devices,  which use an electric impulse that can
leave a suspect  motionless for several seconds.

"It's a valuable tool in our use of force continuum,"  Lafayette Chief
Don Roush said. "We would eventually  have had to use dollars from
other accounts over a  great length of time. We definitely would not
have been  able to purchase them as quickly."

Tippecanoe County Sheriff Tracy Brown said the new dog  has benefited
his agency by allowing Lendermon and  Marco to work during the day and
assist on those calls.  Typically, canine teams worked nights.

"In the day of shrinking budgets, we're limited in what  we can buy,"
Brown said. "This funding came as a very  good time for us. Even
better is that the source of  that money is generated as revenue from
drug arrests."
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MAP posted-by: Derek