Pubdate: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 Source: Standard-Times (MA) Copyright: 1999 The Standard-Times Contact: 25 Elm Street, New Bedford, MA 02740 Website: http://www.s-t.com/ Forum: http://www.s-t.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?actionintro Authors: Michael Healy, is the Westport police chief LOCAL OFFICIALS BEST SUITED TO CONTROL ASSETS Drug pushers across the nation have -- in theory at least -- been funding their own ruin for a number of years now. Asset forfeiture laws allow law enforcement officials to seize property -- including cash, cars and buildings -- that has either been used in drug trafficking or purchased with drug money. This has amounted to quite the windfall for the state's district attorneys and local police chiefs, as well as law enforcement officials across the nation. It also has raised a number of questions. Some question the idea of forfeiture itself, noting that assets can often be seized without due process of the law, requiring citizens to prove their innocence to get back their property. Others question oversight of the money, the distribution of the money and whether the promise of bigger seizures encourages police to hold off on drug arrests. Still others question what all the fuss is about. Despite the questions, forfeiture has turned into a powerful tool for law enforcement, which uses the money to fund programs that might otherwise be paid for by taxpayers. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea