Today, the State House Judiciary Committee continues its review of legislation that would change Michigan's civil asset forfeiture laws.
Current law allows police officers to take and keep property from people even when they have not been charged or convicted of a crime.
Among other things, the legislation would require a criminal conviction before police can seize property under the civil asset forfeiture process. Supporters of this reform, like the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the ACLU of Michigan, say it protects people's property rights and civil liberties.
Bob Stevenson, executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police and former Livonia Police Chief, joined Stateside to discuss law enforcement’s view on the issue. In his conversation with Cynthia Canty, Stevenson defended the current iteration of the law. He explained how Michigan police seize property under that law, why it is important to be able to seize property without a conviction, and how police funding is tied to civil asset forfeiture.
Listen above for the full conversation.
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