On the streets, where illegal drugs are still easy to get at affordable prices, Maryland police chiefs are losing the decades-long drug war. But many departments have come to depend on drug raids to increase their operating budgets. While the drug trade still enriches the bad guys, police chiefs now also get a piece of the action.
Many states, wary of overzealous police departments, require that the proceeds from seized assets be used for education or other non-police purposes. But the 1984 federal Comprehensive Crime Control Act, a turning point in America's war on drugs, is a way to get around these state laws. It allows state and local police departments, working with U.S. agents, to "federalize" money and property seized during local drug raids. The federal government gets at least 20 percent of the seized assets, giving back up to 80 percent - now exempt from state law - to state and local police agencies.
One might assume that the filing of criminal charges would necessarily precede the seizure of property - but shockingly, this is not the case. For example, a motel may be seized because drugs were traded on the premises despite the owners' extensive efforts to prevent such activity; or cash may be seized, only to be returned years later after the owner is forced into a long and costly legal battle.
According to U.S. Justice Department figures, the amount going to Maryland law enforcement agencies shot up from $3.9 million in 2000 to $8.2 million in 2007. Nationally, state and local agencies collected $416 million in 2007, up from $212 million in 2000. Drug-raid income in 2007 totaled $1.8 million for the Baltimore Police Department, up from $522,000 in 2000. In the wake of recent funding cuts, it will be tempting for the department to look to drug-raid money as a way to plug holes in the budget.
Elsewhere in the region, the Baltimore County Police Department's haul went from $740,000 in 2000 to $1.6 million in 2007. Also in 2007, the Baltimore state's attorney took in $80,000 and the Baltimore County state's attorney $141,000. The Carroll County Drug Task Force in 2007 collected $81,000; the Howard County Police Department, $177,000; and the Anne Arundel County Police Department, $160,000. At the state level, asset income for the Maryland State Police increased from $492,000 to $1.2 million from 2000 to 2007.
One study reports that 40 percent of the nation's local police agencies are dependent on seized assets as a necessary budgetary supplement. Why is this bad news?
