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Law enforcement agencies in Florida seized nearly $266 million in cash, cars, homes and other property in 2018, outpacing the entire county in forfeiture collections, according to a report released this week.Part of those seizures came from the use of civil forfeiture, a legal tool that allows police to take people’s cash or property if they suspect it was involved in criminal activity and permanently keep, even if the owner was never charged with a crime or convicted of any wrongdoing, according to the study from the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit libertarian law firm.
© Monivette Cordeiro
Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson speaks at a Dec. 16, 2020 press conference about the Osceola County Investigative Bureau donating forfeiture funds to drug abuse treatment programs (Monivette Cordeiro/Orlando Sentinel).
![a group of people posing for a picture: Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson speaks at a Dec. 16, 2020 press conference about the Osceola County Investigative Bureau donating forfeiture funds to drug abuse treatment programs (Monivette Cordeiro/Orlando Sentinel).](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/florida-leads-nation-with-dollar266m-million-in-property-seizures-by-law-enforcement-study-finds/"default":"load":"default","w":"80","h":"55","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1c3kbk.img?h=547&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=2137&y=734","size3column":"load":"default","w":"62","h":"43","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1c3kbk.img?h=427&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=2137&y=734","size2column":"load":"default","w":"62","h":"43","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1c3kbk.img?h=427&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=2137&y=734")
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