Vehicle Seizures Cut Crime, Raise Legal Questions

Over the years, drag racing has plagued the wide-open boulevards of the San Fernando Valley, generating noise, trash and complaints.

Things got worse last summer, when four people died in street-racing accidents in June. Desperate to break the trend, police tried something different: They seized two Camaros from racers.

It worked.

“Most people think that their automobile is worth more than going out and laying some rubber down in the street,” said Deputy Chief Ronald Bergmann, commander of the LAPD’s Valley Bureau.

The car confiscation program was so successful -- Bergmann said there have been no reports of street racing in the Valley over the last six months -- it was expanded in April to drug cases. Officers have seized 10 cars and made 16 arrests.

“If we can reduce the number of people who are buying and selling narcotics by seizing and selling [their vehicles], that may be easier than putting them in jail,” Bergmann said. “If [vehicle forfeiture] is half as successful with narcotics and prostitution and illegal dumping as it was with street racing, I’d be extremely happy.”

Los Angeles police, like departments across the nation, are turning to seizure with increasing frequency. In the last 15 months, 181 cars have been seized by the LAPD. Two city council members, with the backing of the police chief and city attorney, now want to grab the cars of drunk-driving suspects.

In Hollywood alone, the LAPD has seized 99 cars from drivers soliciting prostitutes, an activity that had overwhelmed the area, said LAPD Capt. Michael Downing.

“Anything that can help improve the quality of life in the city of Los Angeles and supports residents’ efforts to improve their own communities is a success,” said Eric Moses, a spokesman for City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo, who enforces the seizure ordinance.

While some see vehicle confiscation as a powerful cure for urban ills, others have challenged the practice, losing some cases but also convincing judges that seizure laws infringe on civil liberties.

In March, a federal judge ordered the New York City Police Department to return more than 6,000 cars because defendants weren’t given enough of a chance to contest the seizures.

In 2002, a judge struck down New Jersey’s vehicle-forfeiture system as unconstitutional because it violated due process rights of suspects and gave law enforcement a financial incentive for seizures. The case is being appealed.

“This isn’t about law enforcement and prevention of crime,” said Scott Bullock, lead attorney in the case and a senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest law firm. “It’s about a way of raising money for law enforcement officials, and that’s not where law enforcement priorities should be directed.”

In one of the earliest forfeiture cases, Eric Kinney lost his Ford Ranger pickup truck five years ago when he was arrested for trying to buy a small amount of marijuana in Oakland.

“It wasn’t fair,” said Kinney, now 39. “You’re down there trying to buy something that’s like $20 and the maximum fine is $50 or $100, and they take your vehicle, your livelihood, and you can’t get it back.”

Kinney hired a lawyer to challenge Oakland’s program in court. A judge agreed that Kinney’s punishment did not fit the crime and ordered the truck returned but did not strike down the entire program.

“It’s scary,” said Kinney. “I’m wondering when they are going to start taking your car for running a red light.”

Earlier this year, private citizen Steven Parker challenged the forfeiture program in Los Angeles. His complaint alleges that the process may “tempt a police officer or city prosecutor not to hold the balance of justice nice, clear and true,” violates due process by not allowing prompt hearings, and forces the city attorney to serve “two masters -- the public interest and the ‘institutional’ financial interests of his office and LAPD.”

Other opponents contend forfeiture programs turn the traditional presumption of innocence on its head.

“There is a fundamental concept we’ve always had in the United States, and that is you have to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union/Southern California. “And the fundamental concept of a forfeiture is ... you’re guilty from the minute the police find you, because they seize your car.”

Seizure programs generally work like this: Police target an area that is heavily saturated with the crime in question. Undercover officers pose as prostitutes or drug dealers. When a client solicits the goods or services, the person is arrested and his or her vehicle seized. The seizures are carried out under civil law, and defendants often face separate criminal charges that may result in fines or jail.

The car owner has a limited period to contest the forfeiture or pay a stiff fine, typically set by the city attorney, and effectively buy back the car. While the price varies depending on the program and the case, the calculation includes the blue book value and how much the driver may still owe on the car. If the defendant does not pay the fine or buy back the car, the city puts it up for auction.

Authorities say loss of a car, even if temporary, has proven a powerful deterrent to criminal activity.

And forfeiture has proven an incentive to cash-starved local governments. In Los Angeles, forfeiture money goes into the city’s general fund, but in some cities, the money is split between prosecutors and police.

“The idea is [the police departments and city attorney offices] are going to help curb prostitution and drugs by [seizing] vehicles,” said lawyer Mark Clausen of Windsor, who has challenged forfeiture statutes in half a dozen cities. “And it’s a joke. All they do is take the money and give the cars right back.”

So far, he said, he has sued the cities of El Cajon, Oakland, Stockton, Long Beach, Richmond and Los Angeles. Clausen said he has won in Sacramento, where a judge ruled the ordinance did not give drivers a chance to redeem their autos.

Clausen lost his challenge in Oakland, the city that pioneered seizures.

While Oakland vehicle-forfeiture operations, called “Operation Beat Feet,” have slowed down, it in no way indicates the process does not work, said Oakland Police Lt. Rick Hart.

Since 1998, Oakland has collected about $400,000 and seized 550 cars. The city does not keep track of how many of the drivers were convicted.

After towing fees and other costs are paid, the city attorney and Police Department split the remaining profits, Hart said.

And he sees nothing wrong with that.

“If you don’t want to pay the Police Department, you have a choice: Don’t commit the crime,” he said. “But if you commit this crime, then the Police Department, the community and the city attorney should be compensated for these costs.”