CRIME: PROTECTING PROPERTY

It seems unthinkable that the American Civil Liberties Union would be on
the same side as former Rep. Jack Metcalf, R-Wash., one of the most
conservative members of the U.S. House in the late 1990s. But asset
forfeiture is not a practice that people of good conscience can support,
regardless where they stand politically.

Metcalf and the ACLU are collecting signatures to force a ballot initiative
that, if approved by Washington voters, would ban the seizure of property
until after the owner has been convicted of a crime.

In Washington, as in many other states, law-enforcement agencies legally
can seize the property of a suspected criminal -- and, even if found not
guilty, he may never get it back. The accused can file a lawsuit, if he can
afford the legal fees, but the burden is on him to convince the court that
it should be returned.

Fox News reports police agencies oppose the initiative because they
confiscate $4 million worth of property from drug suspects annually and
they say that money has become an essential part of their budgets during
lean times.

But it's bizarre to suggest confiscation is an acceptable way of raising
money to fight crime.

When initially proposed, asset forfeiture laws were portrayed as a means to
"hit big drug dealers where it hurts most -- in their pocketbooks." Police
would confiscate their yachts, which probably were purchased with money
obtained illegally anyway, and use the sales proceeds for manpower and
equipment to catch more criminals.

But, in most states, forfeitures haven't been limited to drug dealers -- or
necessarily to those guilty of anything. In too many cases, police agencies
have resisted returning property to those found innocent.

The loss of personal property is acceptable, as part of a court-ordered
punishment for a crime. But it is unacceptable purely as a revenue-raising
scheme.

Metcalf and the ACLU don't have much time. They must collect nearly 200,000
votes by Jan. 4. If they are able to explain the issue properly, and voters
aren't too distracted by the war on terrorism, the initiative probably will
make the ballot and be passed overwhelmingly.

The ACLU also is active in Florida. If it were to mount a similar ballot
drive here, it probably would have support across the political spectrum.