Rhode Island

Grades
Forfeiture
Law Grade
 State Law Evasion Grade  Final
Grade
Rhode Island

 

Forfeiture Law
Rhode Island civil forfeiture laws fail to protect property owners.   The government only needs to show probable cause to believe a property is related to a crime to forfeit it.  And property owners are effectively guilty until proven innocent, as the burden is on the property owner to prove he was not aware of or did not participate in the underlying crime.  Ninety percent of forfeited property makes its way to law enforcement, while only 10 percent is allocated to the Department of Health for drug abuse treatment programs.  The state is supposed to collect information on forfeiture but failed to respond to requests for information.

 

Forfeitures as Reported to LEMAS (Drug-related only)

 

Total Assets
Forfeited

Assets Forfeited per
Law Enforcement Agency

1993

$1,940,640

$47,778

1997

$1,049,485

$15,527

2000

$591,461

$8,206

2003

$1,287,895

$32,560

 

Equitable Sharing Proceeds from the Assets Forfeiture Fund (AFF)

 

Proceeds Returned to State

FY 2000

$673,840

FY 2001

$321,372

FY 2002

$549,664

FY 2003

$755,538

FY 2004

$1,527,027

FY 2005

$683,856

FY 2006

$1,015,913

FY 2007

$1,935,590

FY 2008

$1,583,601

Total

$9,046,401

Average per Year

$1,005,156

 

Freedom of Information Data
No Data Available; Required to Collect, But Did Not Respond to Request

Learn how states were graded and how data was collected

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