I just stumbled upon someone asking how much cash he can carry on himself without a risk of a police officer taking it away. Then when I scrolled through comments it sounded like a police officer can decide to take away your money and NEVER EVER give it back!
Is that actually true??? I mean, the idea that police officer can take your money if they decide you have “too much” on you is insane already. But even if so, there is no way you can’t then go to police station or something and get it back!
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Yes, the cops can do whatever they want (including murder you) … the law is little to no protection unless it is sewn into a bulletproof vest. Afterwards, other cops will lie on their behalf and your municipality will spend millions on the killers legal defense.
This while police spend the vast majority of public money anyway…. in many places competing with schools, which actually provide a service.
I can’t speak for the whole country, because the law is state by state, but here in my state it’s really bad for the department if they seize non-illegal money. The bar is set pretty high and they basically only take money if it’s laying on top of a pile of drugs in the back seat of the car. They have so many hours to prove to a judge that the seizure of assets was legitimate or they have to return it. Lots of paperwork is involved and it’s a huge hassle.
There is one exception that applies more to paraphernalia than money. They will often ask, “is this yours?” Because a lot of criminals will simply say no. When you say no, they will assume it’s junk and take it to dispose of it. If you say yes, you are admitting you own potentially illegal goods.
I think the amount of cash varies by state, but yeah, don’t carry large sums of money in the USA. Aside from making you a target for crime, police can also seize it. I’ve heard $2,000 cash is the cutoff. But again, I think it varies depending on where you are.
Anyway, this is because while they can’t arrest you for probably committing a crime they have no evidence of, as you are a person with rights, your property does not have rights. So if they suspect your property was used in a crime they can seize it.
Cash is especially suspect because 99% of legitimate large transactions take place by card or check. So cops can and will seize money.
There’s also the urban legend mill about cops using that money after people give up on trying to get it back. I don’t know how true that is, I am not aware of any evidence on it either way.
The whole thing was allowed in the first place in an attempt to stop organized crime. So like many of the shitty things we put up with, the initial intentions were good. It did help break up the Chicago Mob. So it is an effective tool for law enforcement. But… yeah. Definitely has the potential to be abused.
It’s actually pretty common in most countries but the US took it to the next level and basically gave the police the authority to make such decisions (absolutely unthinkable in most other countries).
Pair that with a poorly accessible (read: overly complicated and convoluted, thus expensive) legal system and it’s such an issue in the US and not elsewhere.
Yes, cops can just take your shit forever without charging you with a crime. Civil asset forfeiture is a bigger class of theft than burglaries and robberies. All they have to do is claim they suspect the item in question is involved with a crime and that’s enough. People have the cash in their wallets seized, their jewelry, even entire cars. If you want it back you better be willing to play paperwork pinball for as much as a year, assuming they don’t go ahead and auction it off.
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