Civil asset forfeiture is a practice that has been commonly used in the past in New Mexico; essentially it allows police to take and keep your property without convicting or charging you of a crime. Then, in an attempt to retrieve your property, be it a vehicle, cash, or your home, you must go through the arduous and often unsuccessful process to get it returned.
But at the eleventh hour, New Mexico Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, has signed a bill to abolish the police’s ability to seize and retain property without a conviction. If you are found innocent, the property is simply returned after a short period of seizure. Under the new bill, New Mexico police must also now convict you of a crime and prove the property in question was used in that same crime. Furthermore, the money from any property seized must now go to the state’s general fund instead of police budgets, offering a layer of bureaucracy between the police and assets seized.
You want to support Anonymous Independent & Investigative News? Please, follow us on Twitter: Follow @AnonymousNewsHQ
