Legalized Debit Card Theft: How Civil Asset Forfeiture Became More Controversial
13th June 2016
According to a report released by Oklahoma Watch last Tuesday, The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety purchased “Electronic Recovery and Access to Data” (ERAD) machines to assist law enforcement with seizing funds in asset forfeiture cases. Oklahoma has been struggling with frequent civil asset forfeiture abuses and it seems like state law enforcement are trying to step up the use of forfeiture rather than reforming it.
The devices allow officers to seize funds on debit cards from people that are suspected of drug trafficking but do not have cash present with them at the time.
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If the process of civil asset forfeiture wasn’t already controversial enough, law enforcement decided to purchase these machines in order to seize a person’s funds out of his or her own private bank accounts without any additional due process. Officials claim that these devices are essential to hinder drug trafficking in the state.
Stay out of Oklahoma until this gets fixed.