Missouri police ‘tax’ cartels by seizing assets, but crime and drug use don’t go down

Missouri police and prosecutors do not like talking about civil forfeiture, a moneymaking scheme that allows the government to take and keep people’s stuff without convicting anyone of a crime. Instead of testifying in public against reform, law enforcement lobbyists prefer to work behind the scenes.

State Rep. Tony Lovasco, a Republican who serves portions of Lincoln and St. Charles counties, has one theory why. When people find out what civil forfeiture is, they hate it. “It’s not a popular issue,” he says. “As a practical matter, law enforcement groups want to do their lobbying quietly because otherwise public opinion starts to go the opposite direction.”

New research from the nonprofit Institute for Justice suggests a second reason for the stealth. When defenders speak openly about civil forfeiture, their arguments do not hold up to scrutiny. Our new study, “Does Forfeiture Work? Evidence from the States,” uses empirical methods to debunk three main talking points.

First, police and prosecutors argue that civil forfeiture stops drugs by depriving cartels of cash. Former Clay County Sheriff Bob Boydston told PBS’ “Frontline” that law enforcement agencies simultaneously gain resources to fight trafficking, creating a double win.

Making such claims is easy. But if the goal is to reduce drug use, the study finds no impact. An analysis of four metrics in a sampling of states over a nine-year span shows no correlation to forfeiture revenue. Cartels work about the same either way. That’s strike one against civil forfeiture.

The second claim is that forfeiture makes police more effective generally. “Our position is: It’s a valuable law enforcement tool in the fight against crime,” Kevin Merritt, executive director of the Missouri Sheriffs’ Association, said to The Missouri Times.

If true, jurisdictions with increasing forfeiture revenue should solve crimes at higher rates, and the opposite should happen when forfeiture revenue drops. Yet neither of these things occur. That’s strike two.

The final claim is that police and prosecutors do not adjust their behavior to maximize profit. What happens in Missouri on Interstate 40 undercuts that narrative.

Phelps County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Carmelo Crivello knows that eastbound lanes bring drugs into the state from Mexico, so he intentionally waits on the other side of the road to intercept the outbound cash.

“The westbound, generally speaking, are the profits from the drug sales,” Crivello said to St. Louis Public Radio. In essence, he and his colleagues prefer to levy a sales tax on the cartel rather than interrupting their shipments.

The study confirms the emphasis on revenue by comparing forfeiture activity over time. During periods of economic stress, when agencies are most desperate for money, forfeiture activity increases. That’s strike three.

The evidence is compelling. But as a lawmaker, Lovasco worries more about the fundamental issue of due process. “If we are not giving these constitutional protections to people who are accused, we are not giving them to you either,” he says.

Despite previous reform efforts falling short in 2019 and 2020, he will try again in 2021 with House Bill 750. Technically, civil forfeiture is already unlawful in Missouri without a corresponding conviction. State law, passed in 1993, requires prosecutors to link property to criminal activity proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Even when that happens, the state constitution directs all proceeds to public schools.

Unfortunately, Missouri agencies use a loophole to circumvent state law. Instead of processing forfeiture paperwork themselves, they transfer it to federal jurisdiction, where conviction is optional. U.S. partners keep a cut for themselves and return up to 80% to Missouri.

Lovasco’s bill would stop the shell game. The reform makes sense. Lobbyists who disagree can appeal to emotion, but they strike out when the debate moves beyond claims to substance.

This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Missouri police ‘tax’ cartels by seizing assets, but crime and drug use don’t go down."