Washington
Policing for Profit
Washington 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: 90% 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
- 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 2001 and 2018, Washington law enforcement agencies forfeited nearly $145 million under state law. Between 2000 and 2019, they generated an additional $87 million from federal equitable sharing, for a total of at least $232 million in forfeiture revenue. Washington ranks 42nd 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 $232 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
2000–2019
| Year | Washington Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
$0 ↦
$22,534,733
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $867,260 | $180,000 | $1,047,260 | |
| 2001 | $7,050,840 | $1,607,481 | $804,000 | $9,462,321 | |
| 2002 | $6,806,450 | $1,106,521 | $745,000 | $8,657,971 | |
| 2003 | $9,864,000 | $908,482 | $310,000 | $11,082,482 | |
| 2004 | $8,243,900 | $2,984,942 | $292,000 | $11,520,842 | |
| 2005 | $13,299,350 | $2,725,294 | $575,000 | $16,599,644 | |
| 2006 | $8,664,060 | $1,888,965 | $711,000 | $11,264,025 | |
| 2007 | $1,043,408 | $2,945,689 | $4,249,000 | $8,238,097 | |
| 2008 | $9,458,470 | $2,499,827 | $2,107,000 | $14,065,297 | |
| 2009 | $8,872,587 | $4,752,146 | $8,910,000 | $22,534,733 | |
| 2010 | $8,179,924 | $4,932,477 | $1,526,000 | $14,638,401 | |
| 2011 | $10,688,738 | $2,299,774 | $997,000 | $13,985,512 | |
| 2012 | $9,862,644 | $3,273,967 | $1,340,000 | $14,476,611 | |
| 2013 | $6,354,510 | $6,531,452 | $2,871,000 | $15,756,962 | |
| 2014 | $7,669,660 | $2,057,427 | $367,000 | $10,094,087 | |
| 2015 | $1,165,640 | $3,765,576 | $1,338,000 | $6,269,216 | |
| 2016 | $9,428,740 | $3,577,460 | $1,910,000 | $14,916,200 | |
| 2017 | $9,269,500 | $2,279,115 | $366,000 | $11,914,615 | |
| 2018 | $8,957,360 | $3,009,143 | $445,000 | $12,411,503 | |
| 2019 | Unavailable | $3,078,978 | $102,000 | $3,180,978 | |
| Totals | $144,879,781 | $57,091,976 | $30,145,000 | $232,116,757 |
State
Department of Justice
Treasury
|
Washington Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
| C- | Tracking Seized Property |
|---|---|
| F | Accounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending |
| F | Statewide Forfeiture Reports |
| D | Accessibility of Forfeiture Records |
|---|---|
| F * | 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 Washington Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UnknownWashington does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UnknownWashington does not report the types of property forfeited.
Civil vs. Criminal
UnknownWashington does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Expenditures
UnknownWashington does not report how forfeiture funds are spent.
Data Notes
Agency-level forfeiture data were obtained via public records requests to the Washington State Treasurer. Figures presented are calculated estimates of statewide forfeiture proceeds based on calendar-year deposits to the state general fund, which receives, by law, 10% of all forfeiture proceeds. 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: Preponderance of the evidence.
Wash Rev. Code § 69.50.505(5).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
Wash. Rev. Code §§ 69.50.505(1)(d)(ii), (g), (h), (i), 69.50.506(a).
Financial incentive: 90%.
Wash. Rev. Code § 69.50.505(9).