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Virginia

Institute for Justice

Virginia

Home » Report » Strategic Research » Policing for Profit: First Edition » Part II: Grading the States » Virginia

March 2010

Grades
Forfeiture
Law Grade
 State Law Evasion Grade  Final
Grade
Virginia

 

Forfeiture Law
Virginia’s civil forfeiture laws utterly fail to protect property owners.  The government must prove, only by a preponderance of the evidence, that property is related to a crime and subject to forfeiture.  In turn, property owners bear the burden of proof for innocent owner claims, effectively making them guilty until proven innocent.  Moreover, law enforcement enjoys 100 percent of the proceeds from civil forfeiture.  Initially, 90 percent of the receipts go directly to law enforcement agencies that participated in a forfeiture.  Thereafter, 10 percent goes to the Department of Criminal Justice Services to be used to promote law enforcement activities.  Virginia’s broad laws have enabled the commonwealth to receive, on average, more than $7.2 million per year in forfeiture revenue between 1996 and 2007.

 

 

Forfeitures as Reported to LEMAS (Drug-related only)

 

Total Assets
Forfeited

Assets Forfeited per
Law Enforcement Agency

1993

$6,833,973

$59,178

1997

$5,945,240

$17,296

2000

$155,453,132

$510,969

2003

$9,213,476

$30,954

 

Equitable Sharing Proceeds from the Assets Forfeiture Fund (AFF)

 

Proceeds Returned to State

FY 2000

$4,147,130

FY 2001

$2,639,465

FY 2002

$2,638,756

FY 2003

$2,928,349

FY 2004

$4,268,111

FY 2005

$4,069,024

FY 2006

$4,948,114

FY 2007

$29,647,752

FY 2008

$26,673,908

Total

$81,960,609

Average per Year

$9,106,734

 

Freedom of Information Data
Local law enforcement agencies only (district attorney and task force data not reliable)

Currency

Vehicles

Total

Currency

Vehicles

Total

1996

$2,606,021

$451,285

$3,057,305

1,098

268

1,366

1997

$2,241,737

$2,141,597

$4,383,334

1,184

391

1,575

1998

$3,000,466

$2,182,659

$5,183,125

1,332

418

1,750

1999

$3,057,957

$1,918,062

$4,976,019

1,492

409

1,901

2000

$3,882,837

$2,107,804

$5,990,641

1,623

463

2,086

2001

$3,752,846

$2,620,232

$6,373,078

1,693

521

2,214

2002

$3,828,463

$2,598,131

$6,426,594

1,848

569

2,417

2003

$5,467,848

$3,323,225

$8,791,073

2,160

617

2,777

2004

$6,754,732

$3,484,799

$10,239,531

2,456

803

3,259

2005

$6,698,992

$4,493,597

$11,192,589

1,723

827

2,550

2006

$5,180,497

$4,294,805

$9,475,302

1,556

745

2,301

2007

$6,931,959

$4,397,787

$11,329,746

1,689

772

2,461

Total

$53,404,354

$34,013,983

$87,418,337

19,854

6,803

26,657

Average
per Year

$4,450,363

$2,834,499

$7,284,861

1,655

567

2,221

 

Learn how states were graded and how data was collected

Return to Policing for Profit main page

Press Releases

  • Press Release

    Virginia Earns “D-” In “Policing for Profit” Report

    Arlington, Va.—It’s called policing for profit and it’s happening all across America.  Virginia’s laws and practices make it among the worst abusers in the nation. Under a practice called “civil forfeiture,” police and prosecutors’ offices seize private property—often without ever charging the owners with a crime, much less convicting them of one—then keep or sell…

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