Founded in June 2010, Americans for Forfeiture Reform is made up of involved citizens, activists, and members of the law enforcement and legal communities who are speaking out about the failures of America’s asset forfeiture regime. These policies have failed to deter, eliminate, or reduce criminal activity while creating a law enforcement culture that is incentivized more by revenue than by public safety. Moreover, the evolution of forfeiture practices in America have gutted a number of core Constitutional and legal mechanisms key to the impartial administration of justice, particularly the rights to due process of law and the right to a fair trial.
Although those who speak publicly for Americans for Forfeiture Reform are scholars, law enforcement, and attorneys, many of our members do not have such experience. You only need an appreciation for impartial justice and individual liberty to join us.
In the rush to fight the “War on Drugs” and now the “War on Terror”, the US government expanded America’s forfeiture regime to allow the forfeiture of virtually any property through an umbrella of federal and state law. Now American law enforcement directly retains billions of dollars per year free of legislative oversight or appropriation. It is this money that sets the policy and determines the protocol of the law enforcement agencies that are dependent on seizure revenue to buy military-grade equipment for domestic policing and to pay for their salaries.