Civil Asset Forfeiture Aspects
Laws are practically efficient in regulating the criminal behavior of U.S. citizens. Illegal activity can lead to asset forfeiture, a legal measure that involves government seizure of property gained from or related to the committed crimes (Harr et al., 2017). In that way, police departments and other law enforcement institutions benefit materially to improve the justice system as a whole further. At the same time, cases of significant sums being disproportionally removed from citizens have raised controversy repeatedly, calling for the approval of the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (Harr et al., 2017). Evidently, the issue must be discussed in terms of its effect on the U.S. society as a whole.
Although several questionable cases suggested an excessive characteristic of the legal measure, it is based on a useful principle for the U.S. public. Asset forfeiture follows the necessary steps required to accomplish the ultimate crime-fighting mission. Hence, it allows the forces’ budget to be maintained without affecting innocent citizens. While criminals avoid paying large sums of taxes, it is unjust for those who have not committed any illegal action to suffer the consequences (Harr et al., 2017). Maintaining a strict legal regime of punishing criminals is improved in a way that directly benefits the system’s budget. Consequently, the asset forfeiture law proves more useful than harmful to the U.S. population, as it promotes righteous behavior and regulates essential processes such as tax payments.
In the end, it is essential to view any legal action from the perspective of its usefulness to the country’s citizens. In the case of asset forfeiture, U.S. citizens benefit from the additional resources funding police departments as that step guarantees their safety. Moreover, justice is ensured by the premise of punishing those guilty of drug-related crimes. Therefore, the law and its reforms constitute a useful strategy for fighting crime on a government-controlled budget.
Reference
Harr, J. S., Hess, K. M., Orthmann, C. H., & Kingsbury, J. (2017). Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System (7th Edition). Cengage Learning US.