By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The Justice Department’s controversial program that allows police to seize and keep cash and property from people who have never been convicted or even charged is resuming.
The Justice Department suspended the “equitable sharing” program last year because of budget cuts.
“In the months since we made the difficult decision to defer equitable sharing payments because of the $1.2 billion rescinded from the Asset Forfeiture Fund, the financial solvency of the fund has improved to the point where it is no longer necessary to continue deferring Equitable Sharing payments,” spokesman Peter J. Carr told the Washington Post.
The program has a lot of critics who contend police become motivated “more by profit ad less by justice,” the Post wrote.
Asset forfeiture has exploded over the past several years, climbing from less than $1 bill in 2004 to more than $5 billion in 2014.
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