Feds lift freeze on drug forfeiture money that's helping to pay for new $9 million crime lab in Lincoln

“We are pleased with the decision and will continue to work with our federal partners as we follow the equitable sharing guidelines,” said Col. Brad Rice, the superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol.

Citing budget problems and the need to use the drug forfeiture funds for its own operations, the U.S. Department of Justice had frozen the sharing of so-called “equitable sharing funds” in December.

The order meant the end of about $4 million a year in funding for Nebraska and Iowa law enforcement agencies, which use the seized funds to pay for training, equipment and office space.

The Nebraska State Patrol, for instance, has been using about $562,000 a year in forfeiture funds to help finance its new $9 million crime lab in Lincoln.

But in a press release Monday, a Justice official said the financial picture had brightened, so the agency could again share seized funds and property with local agencies.

In the months since a $1.2 billion budget cut prompted the Justice Department to freeze the sharing of money from the Asset Forfeiture Fund, “the financial solvency of the fund has improved to the point where it is no longer necessary to continue deferring equitable sharing payments,” spokesman Peter Carr said.

Such drug forfeitures have been controversial. Some critics call it “policing for profit,” charging that it gives police an incentive to seize money and vehicles from citizens who are never convicted and, in some cases, who are never charged with a crime.

In some states, the forfeited funds have been used for some questionable purchases for law enforcement officials, including a margarita party for an employee in Texas and free rent in a seized home for five years in Oklahoma.

The ACLU of Nebraska has been among the agencies calling for reforms in civil forfeitures, saying the practice has infringed on the rights of law-abiding citizens. Bellevue Sen. Tommy Garrett has sought reforms in a process that he called “un-American” in some cases.

It adds up to big money. The ACLU reported last year that Nebraska law enforcement agencies had confiscated $42.6 million in civil forfeiture funds between 2004 and 2014.

There are two forfeiture processes, one state and one federal. The federal process is preferred by law enforcement agencies because they get to keep up to 80 percent of the assets seized in traffic stops and drug busts at residences. A federal agency must have been involved to obtain funds through the federal process.

Nebraska law enforcement officials have defended the seizure process, saying that it is used only against legitimately targeted drug dealers and that it hits them where it really counts: in their wallets.

In fiscal year 2014, Nebraska agencies received $2.4 million in forfeiture funds, with the State Patrol ($660,830) and the Omaha Police Department ($619,246) receiving the most.

Omaha has used its funds for travel to conferences and to purchase color guard uniforms, office chairs and a device that helps gather evidence from cellphones. In addition to the crime lab, the State Patrol has used its money primarily for training and to attend conferences.

Both agencies had their forfeiture funds frozen for several months last year because of irregularities found in an audit. The “cease spending” orders were lifted last fall, then reimposed when the Justice Department issued its nationwide freeze.

Nebraska and Iowa law enforcement officials had worried that the freeze could be long-lasting and could end up forcing them to seek taxpayer funds to replace the drug money. Some officials had compared the end of funding to the drastic reduction a decade ago of a once generous federal program, the Byrne grant program, that had financed local drug task forces.

The Justice press release on Monday said processing of requests for federal forfeiture funds would resume immediately.

Contact the writer: 402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com