St. Petersburg, Florida -- Florida's Contraband Forfeiture Act allows police to seize cars or cash from accused criminals, but as 10 Investigates first showed you, some agencies had profits on the mind.
Under the act, no warrants or charges are required for officers to seize property, and some agencies have allegedly abused the system, taking property from innocent individuals or refusing to give back property when there was no evidence it was used to break any laws.
On Thursday, State Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) filed SB 1534 to reform the state's civil forfeiture laws. He wants to make it more challenging for law enforcement agencies to take your property without just cause.
Some of the abuses include officers seizing property based on the value of the item, but Brandes says the bill will take away that incentive by preventing law enforcement from spending the profits themselves.
"If they're going to take away property it shouldn't be because it's valuable enough to take, and that's where the perverse incentive came into play. Now, it doesn't matter the value of the property because the money ultimately is either going to go to charity or it's going to help victims of crimes," he said.
The bill also prohibits agencies from retaining property and assets seized from individuals who are not convicted of a crime. Brandes says Florida should be the leader in reform on how law enforcement agencies are seizing property.
The legislation follows the announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice restructuring federal asset forfeiture protocols, and a detailed report by the Institute for Justice criticizing the practice of asset forfeiture nationwide and grading Florida a "D" for its policies on the issue.
For more information on SB 1534 please visit The Florida Senate.
