Forfeiture deserves scrutiny, reform

When individuals on opposite ends of the political spectrum take aim at the same issue, something is clearly amiss.

Iowa Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D-Iowa City) and Rep. Bobby Kaufmann (R-Wilton) filed bills this year with a similar target: significantly narrowing the scope of Iowa's civil forfeiture laws.

Civil forfeiture laws allow the government to attempt to seize a person's property or money if those assets are believed to be the proceeds of criminal activity, regardless of whether criminal charges are filed against the person.

Those assets may be split between prosecutors and law enforcement agencies - a situation many believe can tempt law enforcement to use forfeiture law beyond its intended purpose, which is to take the profit out of crime.

Both bills would require a person be convicted of a criminal offense before his or her property could be seized by law enforcement.

Bolkcom's bill, SF467, also would remove any temptation to use forfeiture for departmental gain by placing forfeited assets in state or county general funds, to be funneled back to law enforcement agencies under specific circumstances.

The senate bill also would increase transparency surrounding forfeitures by requiring law enforcement agencies and the state's Attorney General to submit yearly audit reports.

These common-sense changes would maintain forfeiture as a law enforcement tool while protecting Iowans' property rights.

We also are pleased to see U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley using his investigative authority to examine forfeiture laws at the federal level.

Grassley, who leads the Senate Judiciary Committee, will hold a hearing tomorrow that focuses on appropriate use of asset forfeiture and possible reforms to prevent abuses. The hearing will, according to a Grassley news release, address 'perverse incentives,” reconsider federal policy that has affected states, discuss possible reforms - including additional judicial oversight - and review Supreme Court decisions in forfeiture cases.

Grassley plans to introduce federal legislation that will enhance individual protection as part of the forfeiture process.

Such state and federal changes are long overdue.

We can all agree with the premise behind asset forfeiture - crime shouldn't pay.

Rewriting legislation to protect the property of innocent Iowans and innocent Americans will not interfere with that goal.

' Comments: (319) 398-8469; editorial@thegazette.com