Nevada
Policing for Profit
Nevada earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws.
Somewhat higher bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must provide clear and convincing 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: Up to 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement (at fiscal year end, 70% of any amount above $100,000 in the government’s forfeiture account goes to fund schools in the judicial district where property was seized).
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
- None.
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
Between 2016 and 2018, Nevada law enforcement agencies forfeited more than $12 million under state law. Between 2000 and 2019, they generated an additional $73 million from federal equitable sharing, for a total of at least $85 million in forfeiture revenue. Nevada ranks 30th 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 $85 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
2000–2019
| Year | Nevada Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
$0 ↦
$12,729,846
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $717,857 | $37,000 | $754,857 | |
| 2001 | Unknown | $1,208,744 | $128,000 | $1,336,744 | |
| 2002 | Unknown | $2,327,734 | $87,000 | $2,414,734 | |
| 2003 | Unknown | $1,414,098 | $338,000 | $1,752,098 | |
| 2004 | Unknown | $3,057,339 | $50,000 | $3,107,339 | |
| 2005 | Unknown | $958,577 | $103,000 | $1,061,577 | |
| 2006 | Unknown | $4,811,808 | $0 | $4,811,808 | |
| 2007 | Unknown | $3,171,097 | $155,000 | $3,326,097 | |
| 2008 | Unknown | $3,976,608 | $1,124,000 | $5,100,608 | |
| 2009 | Unknown | $2,376,957 | $338,000 | $2,714,957 | |
| 2010 | Unknown | $3,170,547 | $859,000 | $4,029,547 | |
| 2011 | Unknown | $3,791,926 | $124,000 | $3,915,926 | |
| 2012 | Unknown | $4,275,944 | $3,392,000 | $7,667,944 | |
| 2013 | Unknown | $3,390,984 | $229,000 | $3,619,984 | |
| 2014 | Unknown | $4,075,559 | $4,426,000 | $8,501,559 | |
| 2015 | Unknown | $3,239,387 | $1,128,000 | $4,367,387 | |
| 2016 | $4,293,189 | $1,549,061 | $248,000 | $6,090,250 | |
| 2017 | $3,132,242 | $7,434,604 | $2,163,000 | $12,729,846 | |
| 2018 | $4,901,149 | $1,577,182 | $403,000 | $6,881,331 | |
| 2019 | Unavailable | $1,648,106 | $109,000 | $1,757,106 | |
| Totals | $12,326,580 | $58,174,119 | $15,441,000 | $85,941,699 |
State
Department of Justice
Treasury
|
Nevada Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
| C | Tracking Seized Property |
|---|---|
| D | Accounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending |
| B | Statewide Forfeiture Reports |
| A | Accessibility of Forfeiture Records |
|---|---|
| D * | Penalties for Failure to File a Report |
| F | Financial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts |
For full transparency and accountability grades, visit www.ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Forfeitures Under Nevada Law: Key Facts
Median Value
$908From 2016 to 2018, half of Nevada’s currency forfeitures were worth less than $908.
Property Types
From 2016 to 2018, 92% of Nevada’s forfeitures were of currency.
Civil vs. Criminal
UnknownNevada does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Expenditures
UnknownNevada does not report how forfeiture funds are spent.
Data Notes
Property-level data were obtained via public records requests to the Nevada Attorney General. Fiscal-year figures represent seizing agencies’ gross revenues of currency and sold property and exclude transfers to other agencies. 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 or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Clear and convincing evidence.
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 179.1173(4).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 179.1164(2).
Financial incentive: Up to 100%. However, if the government’s forfeiture account contains more than $100,000 at the end of a given fiscal year, 70% of the excess must be given to the school district in the judicial district where the property was seized.
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 179.1187.