What happens with confiscated drug bust money?
Although I don't think it's the smartest thing to do, I don't think smoking marijuana should be a crime. Regardless, the law is the law. And Cheshire's Finest does their job well.
Here's a brief memo explaining what happened with the money confiscated in one particular drug bust:
Tim White
16 comments:
Why wouldn't it get posted to reduce the budget of the CPD? I'll be there was OT & other expenses associated with this 'bust'. Seems like it becomes mad money for the PD.
Its usage is regulated by the Government.... Lighten up Francis
Anonymous July 13, 2010 8:51 AM said...
"Why wouldn't it get posted to reduce the budget of the CPD? I'll be there was OT & other expenses associated with this 'bust'. Seems like it becomes mad money for the PD."
Mad money your a$$ - Town Ordinance and federal law spells out the use of asset forfeiture proceeds.
Sec. 10-8. - Seized and forfeited property.
(a)Intent and purpose. The purpose of this section is to promote the public safety and welfare of the citizens of the Town of Cheshire and State of Connecticut, by making it possible for the police department of the Town of Cheshire to pursue forfeitures of property pursuant to Title 21 U.S. Code Section 881 et seq. and 19 U.S. Code 1616 et seq., and to cooperate with other law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, in their attempts to uphold the law as it relates to persons trafficking narcotic substances and illegal drugs of any description.
(b)Authorization. Effective from the date of passage hereof, the police department of the Town of Cheshire, through its chief of police or his authorized agent, is hereby authorized to make application to the United States Department of Justice to share with other law enforcement agencies, pursuant to the provisions of Title 21 U.S. Code, Section 881 et seq. and 19 U.S. Code 1616 et seq., in the proceeds of property forfeitures of such property used or intended to be used in any manner or part to facilitate the commission of violation of Title 21 U.S. Code Section 841 et seq.
(c) Use of funds or property. The disposition of said funds shall be in accordance with federal regulations requiring that all transferred property, including cash or proceeds, must be used for law enforcement purposes as they are from time to time amended. Funds received pursuant thereto shall be deposited with the finance director/treasurer of the Town of Cheshire in accordance herewith. The town attorney is further authorized to cooperate with the police department in the preparing, reviewing or certifying of the necessary claim forms to be filed with the justice department to accomplish the purpose of this section.
(Ord. Enact. 2-11-86, § (10-22))
"...The town attorney is further authorized to cooperate with the police department in the preparing, reviewing or certifying of the necessary claim forms to be filed with the justice department to accomplish the purpose of this section. ..
One more nice little benny for the politically appointed Town Attorney. Now what is the hourly rate charged for filling in these forms anyway? Sure hope it does not actually exceed the small amount of cash recovered.
If is doesn't go to reduce the operating budget then it's mad money...it may be regulated but it's not doing the taxpayers of Cheshire any good
Anonymous July 14, 2010 9:48 AM said...
"If is doesn't go to reduce the operating budget then it's mad money...it may be regulated but it's not doing the taxpayers of Cheshire any good"
Who made you "the Decider?" It's absolutely doing the Town good, as it can fund an increased drug enforcement effort! Or, are you against that?
"...It's absolutely doing the Town good, as it can fund an increased drug enforcement effort! ..."
It is not clear that the money absolutely does good for the town. First off it is a clear indication of a really serious town problem. Drugs and drug money. Like many things in government, it is not clear that our take exceeds our expenses in taking the money in the first place.
If for every dollar of confiscated drug money we are spending a dollar of enforcement money or more, the cost to get this money is pretty high. It is also really hard to understand how confiscated illegal drug money can absolutely do good. Clearly Cheshire has a major issue if Cheshire is able to find and arrest wrong doers who have their property confiscated because they violated serious state and federal anti-drug statutes.
The town needs to concentrate on not attracting druggies in the first place.
Anonymous July 14, 2010 2:56 PM said...
"First off it is a clear indication of a really serious town problem. Drugs and drug money. Like many things in government, it is not clear that our take exceeds our expenses in taking the money in the first place.
If for every dollar of confiscated drug money we are spending a dollar of enforcement money or more, the cost to get this money is pretty high. It is also really hard to understand how confiscated illegal drug money can absolutely do good. Clearly Cheshire has a major issue if Cheshire is able to find and arrest wrong doers who have their property confiscated because they violated serious state and federal anti-drug statutes.
The town needs to concentrate on not attracting druggies in the first place."
Hey Alice, when you get back from Wonderland, let the rest of us know. If you think there is no drug crime here, you're still dreaming. How about theft, burglary, sexual assault? Do we not target these crimes because there is no cash payback for them? How do we keep these druggies and other assorted criminals out? Do we put up a toll gate at each road into town? Or maybe we should have a training course for local real estate agents, so they'll know not to sell or rent to anyone with a penchant for crime.
So let me get this straight, unless there's some good money in it for us, we shouldn't bother enforcing certain laws??? Or is it that we shouldn't talk about enforcing certain crimes, because then people will think there's a real problem?
"...Do we put up a toll gate at each road into town? ... Or is it that we shouldn't talk about enforcing certain crimes, because then people will think there's a real problem?..."
7:35 your'e beginning to see the solution. How about instead of a toll gate we just take all that confiscated drug money and invest it, and more, in a massive southern border fence along with enough troops to keep drug runners out of the USA at least on the southern border for start.
This town seems to have more than its fair share of drug and alcohol problems especially involving young people.
As for the good money concept it would appear that at least "...The town attorney is further authorized to cooperate with the police department in the preparing, reviewing or certifying of the necessary claim forms to be filed with the justice department to accomplish the purpose of this section. ..." Betcha the town attorney sees this as an authorization to charge whatever for services rendered. Wonder how much is left after the legal fees are extracted? Should we wonder how paying an attorney to fill out bureaucratic forms actually fights crime in the first place?
10:23 yes I am actually against the war on drugs--way, way to costly for waht it delviers; exists to give bureaucrats jobs--BTW, the conservative economist Milton Friedman was also against the war on drugs for that reason
Is anyone aware of what the PD does with this so called "mad money?". It is used to provide additional training for officers. It is used to offset our ammunition costs for each officer to practice and re-certify for shooting. In some instances, if a vehicle is involved, a PD can get a DARE car. (how many people bitched when we got the Grand Cherokee?). A large seazure can net the town hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Concerning the amount of time the officer put into this case can surprise you. It was probably a little longer than a traffic stop. Thanks to our laws, quantity dictates the charges. The person charged had enough illegal substances to be considered a dealer. He had $1100 on him and by law it is siezed and forfitted
Officer Tracey did everyone a great service by making this bust. He is a great officer and a real asset to the town. He goes beyond what is asked of him and cares about the people he serves
Any time this town can get an extra dollar should be taken. If the police being able to better themselves is the result then so be it.
And FYI - any money the PD does not use in their budget at the end of the year goes back to the general fund.
"...Any time this town can get an extra dollar should be taken. ..."
This is a statement that many of us would agree with. It could easily be understood to mean that by trimming staff and cutting back on some of the more useless stuff government has accustomed itself to on the local level we can all realize the economic gain of flat or decreasing taxes.
Confiscation of property from low level drug dealers may make for good press. It would be a whole lot better if the town wasn't in the habit of attracting such people in the first place.
Anonymous July 17, 2010 7:56 AM said...
"10:23 yes I am actually against the war on drugs--way, way to costly for waht it delviers; exists to give bureaucrats jobs--BTW, the conservative economist Milton Friedman was also against the war on drugs for that reason"
You & Milton both have your heads up your butts on this issue. When your next door neighbor is dealing out of his house, and assorted scumbags show up at all hours to purchase same, who are you going to call? Milton? I think not.
That 'enforcement programs exist just to give bureaucrats jobs' is about the most stupid thing I've read lately. Time for a new tea bag for you!
I would like to know what town in the United States of America does not have some sort of drug activity. Some people here cannot get their heads out of the sand to realize that drugs are nationwide. The cities have drug problems, the towns our size have drug problems, and towns smaller than us have drug problems. There are more drug addicts in a town like Cheshire than cities like Hartford. Cheshire addicts tend to use less mainstream drugs that usually require a doctors visit. And it is not only the kids using. Soccer moms are one of the highest groups of recreational drug users citing boredom as a reason to get high.
Time to take your heads out of the sand
hey, how about legalizing drugs. Lets face it, people are going to do what they want. Do you really think we can regulate it away? Please.
The war on drugs is just never going to work. Lets take the profits and have education programs. Because the education kids get now on it, just sucks.
Personally, I think the issue of drugs should be revisited by the Federal Gov't.
I don't care if somebody want to smoke pot, but some drugs (I'm thinking PCP, meth et al) almost certainly lead to higher crime rates. So I look at it through that light first. In other words, drugs that tend to lead to increased violent crime rates should be criminal.
But I also think the whole pharma industry with legal drugs is ridiculous.
For example, my asthma inhaler costs me a $30 copay in the USA with a prescription required. Yet I can travel to probably any developing nation and buy it over-the-counter for $10 or less.
What's up with that?
In my view, it's a foreign aid being provided by the US to other countries via the pharmaceutical and insurance industries.
Basically, it's too convoluted for anyone to follow. So no one pays any attention to it.
I think either pharma (and insurance) should stop allowing this practice OR at minimum these unreported foreign aid subsidies should be reported... and the next time Obama hears from some western European country that America is paying our "fair share," he should at least include those numbers.
And I understand many people around the world can't afford basic drugs. But it's ridiculous that (at least it seems to me) almost no Americans even know their subsidizing the world via pharmaceuticals.
Finally, my prescription requires well-paid pharmacists and medical doctors to be involved. And there's no need for their involvement with many prescription drugs, such as my inhaler. I think the FDA probably ought to deregulate a bunch of drugs that they currently regulate.
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