Civil Asset Forfeiture generates more than $1 million in revenue per year for The City of Albuquerque.
Is this $1 Million tied to convicted criminals? No. There were no criminal convictions for any of the affected property owners.
What does Albuquerque use the funding for? It pays the salaries of the people seizing the property.
How did the program in Albuquerque go awry? A city attorney publicly referred to asset forefeiture as a ““gold mine” and property seized through civil forfeiture as “little goodies.”
The legislature passed a bill to restrain civil asset forfeiture, but it is not being enforced. What happens next? A bipartisan group of State Senators joined with the Institute of Justice to force enforcement through New Mexico’s court system.