Kansas
Kansas earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws.
Low bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must prove by preponderance of the evidence that property is connected to a crime.
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property.
Large profit incentive: 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects the state's forfeiture laws as of December 2020. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Recent Reforms
- (2018) HB 2459: Adopted IJ’s model reporting legislation, giving Kansas one of the best forfeiture transparency laws in the country.
Recommendations
- End civil forfeiture
- Direct all forfeiture proceeds to a non-law enforcement fund
- Strengthen protections for innocent third-party owners
- Close the equitable sharing loophole
- Strengthen transparency and accountability requirements
State and Federal Forfeiture Revenues, 2000-2019
In the second half of 2019, Kansas law enforcement agencies forfeited more than $939,000 under state law. Between 2000 and 2019, they generated an additional $78 million from federal equitable sharing, for a total of at least $79 million in forfeiture revenue. Kansas ranks 29th for its participation in the Department of Justice’s equitable sharing program. The state does not prevent state and local agencies from using equitable sharing to circumvent state forfeiture law.
At least $79 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
2000–2019
| Year | Kansas Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
$0 ↦
$9,642,114
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $1,690,336 | $22,000 | $1,712,336 | |
| 2001 | Unknown | $3,137,162 | $0 | $3,137,162 | |
| 2002 | Unknown | $1,442,719 | $12,000 | $1,454,719 | |
| 2003 | Unknown | $1,992,796 | $0 | $1,992,796 | |
| 2004 | Unknown | $5,039,777 | $0 | $5,039,777 | |
| 2005 | Unknown | $3,279,147 | $26,000 | $3,305,147 | |
| 2006 | Unknown | $1,805,375 | $9,000 | $1,814,375 | |
| 2007 | Unknown | $2,091,681 | $17,000 | $2,108,681 | |
| 2008 | Unknown | $2,874,235 | $192,000 | $3,066,235 | |
| 2009 | Unknown | $5,449,087 | $21,000 | $5,470,087 | |
| 2010 | Unknown | $3,065,997 | $293,000 | $3,358,997 | |
| 2011 | Unknown | $6,620,392 | $88,000 | $6,708,392 | |
| 2012 | Unknown | $9,285,114 | $357,000 | $9,642,114 | |
| 2013 | Unknown | $5,041,781 | $375,000 | $5,416,781 | |
| 2014 | Unknown | $2,664,544 | $243,000 | $2,907,544 | |
| 2015 | Unknown | $4,781,945 | $150,000 | $4,931,945 | |
| 2016 | Unknown | $3,612,914 | $345,000 | $3,957,914 | |
| 2017 | Unknown | $1,978,999 | $7,000 | $1,985,999 | |
| 2018 | Unknown | $4,762,906 | $52,000 | $4,814,906 | |
| 2019 | $939,391 | $3,697,252 | $2,046,000 | $6,682,643 | |
| Totals | $939,391 | $74,314,159 | $4,255,000 | $79,508,550 |
State
Department of Justice
Treasury
|
Forfeitures Under Kansas Law: Key Facts
Median Value
$2,591In the second half of 2019, half of Kansas’ currency forfeitures were worth less than $2,591 per case.
Property Types
In the second half of 2019, 57% of Kansas’ forfeitures were of currency.
Civil vs. Criminal
UNKNOWNKansas does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Expenditures
UNKNOWNKansas expenditure data were not used for this report.
Data Notes
Case-level data are from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation website. Because the state’s reporting requirements are new, only a limited time frame of data was available. Figures represent July 2019 through December 2019. Counts and median figures represent case-level forfeitures. Figures are based on the calendar year in which revenues were disbursed. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, state figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state and do not cover the same time period as the federal data.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Preponderance of the evidence.
Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-4113(h).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 60-4112(h), (l), 60-4113(h).
Financial incentive: 100%.
Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-4117; Kan. Att’y Gen. Op. No. 2018-14, 2018 WL 4922703, at *4 (Oct. 5, 2018) (concluding that forfeiture proceeds may not be used for normal operating expenses such as salaries for regular employees); cf. Kan. Att’y Gen. Op. No. 2007-15, 2007 WL 2021740, at *2 (July 6, 2007) (determining that forfeiture proceeds may be applied to special law enforcement projects but cannot be used as a regular funding source).