By Hank Stephenson | Arizona Capitol Times
The amount of money and property that Arizona law enforcement agencies have seized from suspected criminals under the state’s civil asset forfeiture laws has skyrocketed in the last decade, making Arizona one of most active states for seizures in the nation.
The haul for police and law enforcement agencies across Arizona quadrupled from 2002 to 2012, when seizures peaked at $43 million, according to an analysis of state records released on Nov. 10 by the Institute for Justice, a national advocacy group leading a politically diverse coalition calling for reform of state and federal civil forfeiture laws.
