'SEIZED ASSETS' MAKE COPS A BIG PART OF THE PROBLEM

A March 26 article ["Seized assets do pay off"] indicates that
proceeds from seized drug trade assets are returned to the law
enforcement agencies making the seizures. It was reported that in
2005, about $6 million of seized assets went to Virginia criminal
justice entities. Most states have similar policies. By cutting itself
in on the profit stream from illicit drugs, law enforcement
effectively joins the narcotics racket.

When the criminal justice sector is allowed to enrich itself by
skimming illegal drug profits, it is provided incentives to ensure
that the drug trade flourishes, and it resists public-policy
initiatives that might curb drug use or reduce the profits therefrom.

Also, by funding itself autonomously, law enforcement can escape
oversight by elected lawmakers, circumventing the government's system
of checks and balances. Rhetorical claims of benefit to taxpayers
notwithstanding, making law enforcement the exclusive recipient of
seized drug assets dubiously serves the public interest.

Mett Ausley Jr.

Lake Waccamaw, N.C.