Philadelphia police seize millions annually from citizens. Many of them are innocent.

Philadelphia police officer
(Image credit: William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)

A new report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania finds that Philadelphia law enforcement use civil asset forfeiture to confiscate millions annually in cash and property from citizens, many of whom are never convicted of any crime. For those who lose their money, cars, and even homes but don't undergo criminal trials, reclaiming their property requires Philadelphians to "wage complicated and time-consuming legal battles in civil court without the help of counsel or other safeguards."

About $2.2 million of the seized money goes to the Philadelphia district attorney's office, providing 7.3 percent of its budget. Not coincidentally, the same office supervises the asset forfeiture program.

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.