Just got this from the member of the Police Commission I spoke with – some solid info on how many forfeiture actions have been happening in San Francisco, and how much property was seized.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
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Begin forwarded message:
From: John Hamasaki john@hamasakilaw.com
Date: February 13, 2021 1:12:43 PM PST
To: Starchild RealReform@earthlink.net
Subject: asset forfeitureHi Starchild,
Here was some initial information released by DPA, a bit old, but still something:
At a state level, the Attorney General publishes annual reports on all forfeitures of assets from illegal drug activities initiated throughout the state during the calendar year.
The report also includes the number of cases for which forfeiture was ordered or declared, the value of assets and recipients of forfeited assets.
The number of asset forfeitures initiated have decreased since 2016.
I’ve reviewed these reports, and compiled some of the statistics for San Francisco over the past three years:
Year
Forfeitures Initiated
Value
2019
111
359,052.04
2018
121
594,016.20
2017
116
537,065.26
2016
172
1,009,665.83Year
Forfeitures Completed
Value
2019
58
424,192.74
2018
82
804,975.34
2017
181
537,074.61
2016
45
164,971.19It does not look like the City has performed any reviews of asset forfeiture since 2010. Members of the public can submit audit ideas to DPA through the Audits web page:Audits, Reviews, and Analysis | Department of Police Accountability
At a local level, the Controllers office from time to time does a review of the process and so for San Francisco, that can be found here:
– this report, from 2010, assessed the adequacy of SFPD and DA procedures and internal controls over operations related to assets held, from the point of seizure to the forfeiture of funds by non-judicial or judicial processes.
The audit team reviewed ten judgmentally selected files, and found:
Recordkeeping and the review process for the asset forfeiture function are properly performed.
Asset forfeiture employees are knowledgeable of the Asset Forfeiture Program and strive to complete their responsibilities efficiently and effectively.
Seized property is properly handled and safeguarded throughout the entire process.
Reports and/or forms are adequately completed for each asset forfeiture case to ensure adherence to policies and procedures. Adequate procedures for closing asset forfeiture cases are maintained*Keep in mind that this report is over 10 years old and does not reflect either current practices, or amounts recovered. Depending on what your interested in focusing on, you may need to pull in information from sfpd directly and/or the DA’s office (which is why I know so much about the process), since they are the ones charged with the legal issues regarding the assets (mostly seized funds) for a shared percentage of the recovery in their operating budget. -Paul
534 Pacific Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
Tel: (415) 525-4245
Fax: (415) 276-2871
hamasakilaw.com
