Under current law, authorities who seize property keep the proceeds, providing a source of funds no subject to oversight by the town, county or state. They are not required to provide detailed reports on how they use these proceeds. One report found that 60 percent of the money was not used for drug enforcement. Judges are forced to impose the same inflexible prison term on a young person who has made a mistake as they do on a hardened criminal. Youthful offenders who have made some mistakes with drugs have no opportunity to enter treatment rather than going to prison.
Hardened criminals can try to buy their way out of prison .
Forfeited assets are generally divided between the prosecuting office and the city, town or state police department involved in the seizure. Using their assets as a bargaining chip, rich drug dealers sometimes seek to buy their way out of prison terms while low-level offenders end up serving time as well as losing property. Before taking ownership of an individual's property, authorities will have to prove in court that there is clear evidence that the property was used to commit a crime, or was bought with proceeds from crime. In addition, the Fair Treatment Initiative provides protection for innocent owners who are not accused of any wrongdoing. The public has a right to know how confiscated property and money are used.