LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Michigan State Police have released a report on civil asset forfeiture during the 2022 year, announcing the seizure of more than $10.2 million in cash and nearly 4,000 forfeitures.

Civil asset forfeiture laws allow police to retain property suspected of being involved in a crime, even if the property owner is not charged with wrongdoing and had no connection to the crime.

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In 2022, more than 150 Michigan residents lost property without being charged, and another 100 lost property without a conviction. Nearly 2,000 forfeitures were completed outside the courts, significantly more than were completed in court.

$9.8 million of funds seized and forfeited in 2022 were awarded to law enforcement to fund continued operations.

Drug trafficking alone resulted in nearly $10 million combined cash and asset seizure. Michigan state law now requires a conviction or plea agreement for controlled substance abuse crimes before law enforcement can force owners to give up certain property with a value under $50,000. Assets seized at airports are an exception to this rule.

“Drug trafficking will not be tolerated in Michigan,” said state Representative Graham Filler (R-DeWitt), who sponsored one of the bills which reduced the minimum asset value for forfeit without conviction to $20,000 in airports. “The men and women who keep our airports secure need to have the proper authority to keep drugs and drug money out of our state—and this reform gives them the tools they need.”

Items seized in all locations throughout 2022 included money, securities, weapons, and vehicles. Nearly 4,000 units of unidentified property considered “of value” were seized, plus one residential real property unit.

Most of the property was then retained or sold, while some was destroyed or donated.

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High costs of legal proceedings mean that residents whose property has been seized often do not try to get their assets returned, particularly if the assets are of comparatively low value.

Dollar values of forfeitures have fallen in recent years, down from 10,325 forfeitures totaling $22.4 million in value in 2012. Forfeitures carried out without a court proceeding have risen over the past year but are also down from 2012. Fewer state agencies reported carrying out forfeitures in 2022 compared to previous years.

When CAF reforms were passed in 2019, law enforcement expressed concerns about the expected reduction in forfeiture revenue.

“It is going to have a negative effect upon narcotics enforcement at a time when we’re in an epidemic fight with the opioid problem,” said Robert Stevenson, then executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police. “Now we’re going to eliminate people who are fighting that fight.”

“We saw the handwriting on the wall, and we moved our position to neutral,” said Blaine Koops, then CEO and executive director of the Michigan Sheriff’s Association. “Do we necessarily like it? Absolutely not. But we also understand the political reality.”

Despite increased regulation and less reliance on forfeiture funds, debate continues over whether forfeiture laws are compatible with property rights.

“Law enforcement should be able to permanently keep someone’s assets only after that person ahs been convicted of a crime, and a court finds that the person gained the assets through illegal activity,” said Jarrett Skorup, Vice President for Marketing and Communications at the Mackinac Center. “Recent bipartisan reforms have protected the rights of Michigan residents, but there is still more to be done.”