Yesterday the Washington Post finished a three-part, front-page series about how state and local police confiscate (steal) hundreds of millions of dollars each year from citizens under the DOJ's Equitable Sharing program.
While the series drew thousands of comments, the vast majority appalled at the program and how it is implemented, it has drawn very little attention from the national media or on the internet. So, to help spread the word, I am publishing this diary and linking to the series: Part 1; Part 2; and Part 3.
More below the orange cloud.
In many ways, this is just another example of how law enforcement and the criminal justice system have been corrupted over the last 35 years by the "War on Drugs" and the "War on Terror." Not only have they been used as an excuse to militarize police, treat every citizen as potential enemies of the state, and divert trillions of (unaccounted for) tax dollars to useless private security firms and consultants. it has turned law enforcement into nothing more than a petty extortion racket. On the other hand, what else would you expect from a policing system that was founded on protecting slave-owners from runaway slaves and re-enslaving their descendants (in the south) and protecting business owners from labor organizers and assaulting workers (in the north).
What's important to understand, however, is that the corruption of this program is not an unintended consequence, it was the very purpose of the program in the first place. A former prosecutor in Part 1 bemoans the "fact" that a "well-intended program," to seize the assets of major drug dealers is now being misused. What he fails to mention, of course, is that the government has had the ability for forfeit assets AFTER COVICTION since Common Law. The "legitimate" purpose he was referring to was to allow the police to confiscate money form SUSPECTED criminals before trial, without arrest, charges or probable cause. The original "benign" purpose was to prevent suspects from paying for defense counsel, so they could be more easily convicted on shaky evidence, or simply punish them without the messy need for due process.
The courts, of course, have not seen fit to hold police or prosecutors accountable for this obvious fraud, so once again, it is left to the people.
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."
Gil Scott-Heron.
Mon Nov 10, 2014 at 1:11 PM PT: Another New York Times article on armed robbery by police agencies. Police training includes racism and tips for how to steal the best stuff. More proof the police serve NO LEGITIMATE PUBLIC SAFETY Purpose in 21st century America.
http://www.nytimes.com/...