Rhode Island earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Low bar to forfeit: Once the government seizes property, the owner must prove by preponderance of the evidence that it is not connected to a crime.
Innocent Owner Burden
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 90% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects Rhode Island’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. 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.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Rhode Island?
Under Rhode Island law, the government’s, owners’, and court deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 240 days, but the wait may be longer as the deadline for filing the complaint is not specified and the deadline for the hearing can be extended. While you wait, the government has your property, and you have no way to seek its return.
*For property worth $20,000 or less, the attorney general can pursue judicial or administrative forfeiture. Here, we describe the administrative forfeiture process.
**Notice is by publication for three weeks. Written notice must also be provided “to the extent practicable.”
***Within 30 days of receiving notice, you can instead file a petition for remission or mitigation with the attorney general.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $303 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Rhode Island Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $1,303,658 | $673,840 | $8,000 | $1,985,498 |
| 2001 | $2,187,259 | $321,372 | $673,000 | $3,181,631 |
| 2002 | $2,527,312 | $549,664 | $45,000 | $3,121,976 |
| 2003 | $2,201,591 | $755,538 | $12,000 | $2,969,129 |
| 2004 | $1,183,755 | $1,527,027 | -$539,000 | $2,171,782 |
| 2005 | $2,207,836 | $683,856 | $584,000 | $3,475,692 |
| 2006 | $1,852,200 | $1,015,913 | $6,000 | $2,874,113 |
| 2007 | $1,167,460 | $1,935,590 | $6,000 | $3,109,050 |
| 2008 | $1,582,271 | $1,583,601 | $63,000 | $3,228,872 |
| 2009 | $1,573,170 | $1,275,925 | $0 | $2,849,095 |
| 2010 | $970,494 | $1,178,837 | $98,000 | $2,247,331 |
| 2011 | $1,323,918 | $4,387,537 | $0 | $5,711,455 |
| 2012 | $2,014,971 | $923,224 | $89,000 | $3,027,195 |
| 2013 | $1,249,259 | $86,689,838 | $132,000 | $88,071,097 |
| 2014 | $1,329,324 | $17,026,355 | $27,000 | $18,382,679 |
| 2015 | $1,709,221 | $9,142,696 | $36,000 | $10,887,917 |
| 2016 | $979,961 | $29,296,175 | $67,000 | $30,343,136 |
| 2017 | $1,297,226 | $23,493,801 | $43,000 | $24,834,027 |
| 2018 | $2,280,313 | $52,242,796 | $39,000 | $54,562,109 |
| 2019 | $1,601,081 | $4,813,276 | $58,000 | $6,472,357 |
| 2020 | $2,737,601 | $11,551,133 | $214,000 | $14,502,734 |
| 2021 | $2,536,921 | $447,383 | $57,000 | $3,041,304 |
| 2022 | $2,420,076 | $6,643,660 | $100,000 | $9,163,736 |
| 2023 | $2,712,927 | $815,721 | $69,000 | $3,597,648 |
| Totals | $42,949,805 | $258,974,758 | $1,887,000 | $303,811,563 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Rhode Island does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Rhode Island agencies have generated nearly $261 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 37 Rhode Island agencies, or an estimated 79% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Rhode Island Law: Key Facts
Median Value
$2,000
From 2019 to 2023, half of Rhode Island’s currency forfeitures were worth less than $2,000.
Property Types
From 2019 to 2023, more than 70% of Rhode Island’s forfeitures were of currency.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
Rhode Island does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Median Time to Forfeiture
7 months
From 2019 to 2023, half of Rhode Island’s forfeitures took more than seven months, while a quarter took over 14 months.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
DStatewide Forfeiture Reports
BPenalties for Failure to File a Report
FAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
FAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
DFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
FFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Statewide forfeiture reports with property-level data for 2019–2023 were obtained via public records request from the state treasurer. Data for earlier years were obtained via public records requests to the state attorney general. Revenues represent the value of currency and property forfeited in a calendar year. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: The government must show probable cause for the seizure, and the owner must show that the property is not forfeitable by a preponderance of the evidence.
21 R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.04.2(p).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
21 R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.04.2(p).
Financial incentive: 90%.
21 R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5.04(b)(3).
Process: 21 R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-5.04.2, -5.04.1(f) (forfeiture procedure); R.I. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 4(l) (service of complaint); 12 R.I. Gen Laws § 21-2 (statute of limitations).