I Know Lawyers Can’t Do Math, But Cops Can’t Either?

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Boy, do I love protecting and serving!

Do you remember sitting in Crim Pro asking yourself why any of this matters if the rule enforcers don’t play by the rules anyway? I do — and a few folks in Kansas may be singing the same tune.

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A push three years ago for more accountability from Kansas law enforcement agencies that seize cash, cars and contraband — often without filing criminal charges against the owner — has generated a wealth of new information.

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A review of nearly 2,000 reports filed so far found widespread inconsistencies in the way seizures are reported. More than half of the law enforcement agencies have failed to report some of their seizures as required and have done so with the blessing of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which is charged with gathering and posting the information on a publicly accessible website.

“It was the Legislature’s intention that we know the value of seizures, no matter at what stage in the process they are, whether they are pending, whether they have concluded,” said Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita. “The intention was to have that data available so that the Legislature could look at additional legislation to deal with what most of us perceived to be the overuse of civil asset forfeiture.”

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I gotta be honest the “perceived overuse of civil asset forfeiture” is a brilliant way to describe what some legally minded folks may argue it to be a “taking” because the money taken is used to fund the police department, a public use — lay folks just call it “theft.” And while I might be bad at math, I know that it matters. Especially when the instances where the discrepancies between what was seized compared to its reported value was under reported to the tune of either 10% or $5,000 in value a couple dozen times. Unless they were reporting the value of Bitcoin or Tom Brady’s “last” touchdown football, there must be some explanation for what’s going on.

Why? First, police misconduct is a really bad look. Second, it is also super expensive, with it costing taxpayers over $1.5B and all. You know how many George Foreman grills you can buy with that type of money? At least three. Isn’t there some Top Cop that can get these folks in line? A Chief Justice Roberts for cops? I know its been a while to put your spokesperson jacket back on, but they could really use the good PR, McGruff.

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Kansas Law Enforcement Routinely Produces Error-Filled Reports On Seized Cash And Property [LawrenceKS Times]

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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Kansas, Police, Police Misconduct, Takings, Theft