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Civil asset forfeiture, equitable sharing, and policing for profit in the United States

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  • Holcomb, Jefferson E.
  • Kovandzic, Tomislav V.
  • Williams, Marian R.

Abstract

Purpose Critics of asset forfeiture claim that forfeiture laws create financial incentives that inappropriately influence police behavior. The present study examines the relationship between measures of the financial incentive and legal burdens for civil asset forfeiture on federal equitable sharing payments to local law enforcement to determine whether police behavior is affected by different statutory incentives for forfeiture activity.Methods Using LEMAS and DOJ forfeiture data, this study addresses some of the limitations of previous research by using a multi-year average for forfeiture activity, an improved measure of financial incentives for law enforcement, and multiple measures of statutory burdens to law enforcement to determine the impact of forfeiture laws on forfeiture activity.Results Consistent with anecdotal reports and limited prior research, findings indicate that agencies in jurisdictions with more restrictive state forfeiture laws receive more proceeds through federal equitable sharing.Conclusions Results suggest that state and local law enforcement agencies use federal equitable sharing to circumvent their own state forfeiture laws when state laws are more burdensome or less financially rewarding to these agencies, providing additional evidence that police operations are influenced by financial incentives.

Suggested Citation

  • Holcomb, Jefferson E. & Kovandzic, Tomislav V. & Williams, Marian R., 2011. "Civil asset forfeiture, equitable sharing, and policing for profit in the United States," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 273-285, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:39:y:2011:i:3:p:273-285
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Benson, Bruce L & Rasmussen, David W & Sollars, David L, 1995. "Police Bureaucracies, Their Incentives, and the War on Drugs," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 83(1-2), pages 21-45, April.
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    4. Worrall, John L., 2001. "Addicted to the drug war: The role of civil asset forfeiture as a budgetary necessity in contemporary law enforcement," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 171-187.
    5. Rick L. Williams, 2000. "A Note on Robust Variance Estimation for Cluster-Correlated Data," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 56(2), pages 645-646, June.
    6. Moulton, Brent R, 1990. "An Illustration of a Pitfall in Estimating the Effects of Aggregate Variables on Micro Unit," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(2), pages 334-338, May.
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    As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
    1. > Law and Economics > Economics of Crime > Crime Prevention > Police Funding > Alternative sources

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    Cited by:

    1. Yahagi, Ken, 2021. "Law enforcement with motivated agents," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Daniel Y. ROTHSCHILD & Walter BLOCK, 2016. "It Is Not Armed Robbery When Government Takes People's Stuff, It Is Civil Asset Forfeiture," Journal of Social and Administrative Sciences, KSP Journals, vol. 3(3), pages 219-230, September.
    3. Chu, Hongli & Sun, Shengmin & Wei, Jian, 2024. "Fiscal pressure and judicial decisions: Evidence from financial penalties for official corruption in China," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).

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