Despite Dark Warnings, Study Shows New Mexico’s Civil Forfeiture Reform Did Not Affect Crime Rates

ARLINGTON, Va.—A study just published in Criminal Justice Review answers an important question for New Mexicans: Did reforming civil forfeiture make them less safe? That study of nine years of crime data found that, no, crime did not rise when law enforcement lost the ability to take property without charging people with a crime. The Institute for Justice (IJ) found that crime rates in New Mexico did not worsen compared to neighboring states and arrest rates did not decrease.

“These results show that ending civil forfeiture does not encourage criminals to ramp up their activities, nor does it hamper law enforcement’s ability to do their job,” said Jennifer McDonald, lead author of the study and IJ Assistant Director of Activism. “State and federal lawmakers now have empirical evidence—not just speculation and anecdotes—showing they can rein in civil forfeiture without compromising public safety.”

Civil forfeiture allows the government to take cash, cars, and even homes without charging the property owner with a crime. Since the process to forfeit money is civil, rather than criminal, the government’s burden of proof is reduced and property owners are not entitled to an attorney. Proceeds from civil forfeiture then typically go directly to law enforcement.

In 2015, New Mexico eliminated civil forfeiture, requiring prosecutors to use the criminal process to keep property linked to crime. The Legislature also barred law enforcement from keeping the proceeds of criminal or civil forfeiture. At the time, law enforcement groups cautioned that lawmakers were taking away a critical tool for police.

The chair of the New Mexico Sheriffs’ Association warned that, without civil forfeiture, “You’ll get less law enforcement.” “The end result of this is the cartels are going to ramp up their money laundering and cash exchanges in the state of New Mexico tenfold,” he predicted.

But IJ’s analysis of monthly data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report over a nine-year period shows no measurable harm. There were no significant post-reform differences in crime or arrests in New Mexico relative to Colorado or Texas.

An earlier version of the study first appeared in the third edition of Policing for Profit, IJ’s in-depth analysis of civil forfeiture. Criminal Justice Review is a peer-reviewed journal published since 1976 that “provides a forum for social scientists to report research findings for informed policy making with respect to crime and justice through innovative and advanced methodologies.”