Civil and Human Rights Coalition Responds to Justice Department Move to Encourage Policing for Profit

WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in response to the Department of Justice announcing that it is resuming its Equitable Sharing Program, which allows local police departments to seize assets from everyday citizens without charging them with a crime and to use the proceeds to fund their own programming. The practice, which is also known as civil asset forfeiture, has a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and communities of color:

“We are deeply disappointed that the Department of Justice has resumed this pernicious program that incentivizes police to essentially steal from the people that they are charged with protecting. Current federal forfeiture laws create a financial incentive to pursue profit over the fair administration of justice, facilitate the circumvention of state laws intended to protect citizens from abuse, encourage the violation of due process and property rights of Americans, and disproportionately impact people of color and those with modest means.

The Equitable Sharing Program runs counter to the constitutional principle that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. By resuming this program, the Department of Justice is fueling the perverse profit incentives that compel police departments to seize people’s assets without arresting or charging them in order to fund their operations.

The source of law enforcement funding should not be tied – either directly or indirectly – to this practice. We strongly urge the department to reconsider its actions.”

Wade Henderson is president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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