What is Policing For Profit? And How Does It Impact Public Safety?
WHAT IS POLICING FOR PROFIT?
HOW DOES IT IMPACT PUBLIC SAFETY?
Michigan Moms United compiles crime arrest statistics to show, in no uncertain terms, how the practice of policing for profit decreases public safety.
Rather than investigate and arrest suspects who commit violent crimes such as rape, murder, assault, and robbery, Michigan police and prosecutors focus efforts on consensual, victimless crimes. Why? Because doing so brings much-needed funding to cash-strapped law enforcement agencies.
Maryland, Montana, New Mexico and Washington D.C. have enacted comprehensive forfeiture reforms, by Michigan law enforcement have prevented substantial reforms. More on this issue in a future blog.
Here’s how policing for-profit works. The federal government provides grants to drug task forces to “go get drugs,” but does not give grants to detectives who work to find murderers or rapists. Civil asset forfeiture laws allow cops and prosecutors to forfeit cash, assets, and property of anyone accused of drug or prostitution crimes. They don’t have to obtain a conviction or prove in any way the defendant was committing a crime. Local law enforcers also keep all proceeds, sharing with federal agencies.
QuoteThis combination of free money with no consequences fosters a generations-long dependence on forfeiture and grant dollars in most, if not every, local Michigan police force. This dependency dictates enforcement to areas of profit, mostly drug and prostitution consensual “crimes” rather than violent crimes with actual victims.
By now everyone knows about the over 11,000 long-forgotten rape kits found in an abandoned Detroit building. Police cannot forfeit anything from rapists. Considering the Michigan State Police Crime Lab admits marijuana testing accounts for 40% of its workload, we can safely assert it’s much safer to live in Michigan if you’re a rapist than a medical marijuana registry participant.
The warrants executed in search of forfeiture often violate the civil rights of Michigan families who have no criminal intent and do so in the form of excessive force, sexual harassment and child endangerment. Here's just one example, the Shattuck family in St. Clair County, which is the subject of a civil rights violations lawsuit from the Law Office Of Michael Komorn.
The numbers below are statewide arrest rates and as you can see, they do not change much from year to year. It’s time we take public safety seriously, face the ugly truth about policing for profit and begin to heal relations between communities and police.
Michigan Moms United calls on the Michigan Legislature to substantially reform our civil asset forfeiture laws, eliminate policing for profit and require law enforcers to increase arrest rates for violent crimes.
Michigan Moms United has interviewed hundreds of Michigan families eviscerated by both these unjust laws and the SWAT raids used to ransack their homes and businesses in search of forfeiture.
We work to educate the media and legislature about how the failed drug war decreases public safety and destroys families.
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Arrests/Incidents = Arrest Rate
2008
Prostitution 955/1134 = 84%
Drugs 34,250/43,999= 77%
Murder 168/258 = 65%
Assault 10,463/28,031 = 37%
Robbery 2726/13177 = 20%
Rape 1676/10,335 = 16%
Arson 322/2754 = 11%
2009
Prostitution 735/803 = 91%
Drugs 35,427/44,442 = 79%
Murder 223/579/ = 38%
Assault 10,076/27,079 = 37%
Robbery 2645/12,396 = 21%
Rape 1593/9886 = 16%
Arson 301/2556 = 11%
2010
Prostitution 447/487 = 91%
Drugs 35,317/44,144= 80%
Assault 9912/26,303 = 37%
Murder 188/528 = 35%
Robbery 2600/11,358 = 22%
Rape 1653/10,228 = 16%
Arson 286/2830 = 10%
2011
Prostitution 335/409 = 81%
Drugs 32,359/40,831 = 79%
Assault 9458/24,060 = 39%
Murder 170/580 = 29%
Robbery 2261/10,354 = 21%
Rape 1491/9688 = 15%
Arson 277/2529 = 10%
2012
Prostitution 390/414 = 94%
Drugs 32,744/43,062 = 76%
Assault 9056/23,795 = 38%
Murder 163/628 = 25%
Robbery 2078/10340 = 20%
Rape 1479/10,109 = 14%
Arson 267/2256 = 11%
2013
Prostitution 307/373 = 82%
Drugs 35664/45338 = 78%
Murder 258/585 = 44%
Assault 8954/22813 = 39%
Robbery 2223/10201 = 21%
Rape 1508/9780 = 15%
Arson 255/1873 = 13%
2014
Prostitution 388/453 = 85%
Drugs 35,762/44,224 = 80%
MURDER 325/508 = 63%
Assault 9303/22,862 = 27%
Robbery 1867/8171 = 22%
RAPE 1480/9319 = 15%
Arson 238/1621 = 14%
2015
Prostitution 627/741 = 84%
Drugs 36,686/45,645 = 80%
Murder 253/539 = 46%
Assault 9081/22665 = 40%
Robbery 1619/7775 = 20%
Rape 1472/9836 = 14%
Arson 243/1912 = 12%
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