| Asset Forfeiture Takes a Front Seat in Philly
A building used by drug dealers is sealed. |
If drug dealers threaten a neighborhood
in North Philadelphia, they might end up without any place
to live and out of business fast.
With the area's dilapidated and abandoned houses making
it easier for drug dealers to make their living, the district
attorney's (D.A.'s) office decided to put a new
twist on an old idea. Asset forfeiture is often used to take
cars, guns, or money away from criminals, but real property
asset forfeiture had only been used when the property had value.
Now, in the two Weed and Seed sites in this area, the D.A.'s
office is using asset forfeiture of real property (e.g., homes,
businesses, bars) as a new tool to aid law enforcement. The
idea has gained momentum over the past few years, but the approach
is still new and is not being implemented in any of the counties
surrounding Philadelphia, according to Scott Sigman, an assistant
D.A. with the Special Narcotics Prosecution Unit.
Drug dealers have been using most of the homes seized in
the Weed and Seed areas as havens and places of business. Sigman
believes asset forfeiture of real property should be used in
every drug case involving a search warrant of a house or business,
especially houses that have to be demolished at the expense
of the city and have no real economic value.
"Asset forfeiture of real property fits the Weed and
Seed model," Sigman explained. If drug dealers are just
arrested, then that's only weeding, but if you add the
asset forfeiture component, it provides the time needed to
implement the seeding side, he said. "Arrest alone will
not solve the problem."
The approach works in this area because of the large number
of dilapidated and/or abandoned houses used in drug dealing,
very strict punishments for drug dealers, and the support of
the D.A.'s office. Sigman, who has worked as a Weed and
Seed prosecutor since 1998, attempts to litigate forfeiture
against five properties per site every month. In a nod to the
success of the initiative, two asset forfeiture assistant D.A.s—one
for each site—joined the office this year.
A common scenario that illustrates how the community works
with law enforcement begins with residents providing tips to
the police regarding drug dealers inside properties. The police
then investigate the tips, conduct surveillances, make undercover
purchases and/or use confidential informants to make purchases,
and then obtain a search and seizure warrant. The information
is then sent to the D.A., who charges the defendant.
In most cases that Sigman encounters, a defendant gets arrested
but is out on bail before the police even finish processing
the arrest paperwork. That defendant usually goes right back
to selling drugs in the same area or someone else is sent in
to replace the dealer who was arrested if the defendant cannot
make bail. But by using asset forfeiture, the house or business
that was connected to the drug selling is sealed by county
detectives, so the drug dealer must find a new home and a new
location to run the drugs. If the drug dealer enters the property,
he or she will be arrested for criminal trespass.
In some cases, forfeited properties are donated back to the
community for use as community centers, gardens, and Safe Havens.
In other cases, properties are sold at auction to prescreened
buyers who have never been straw purchasers for drug dealers
and have no drug convictions.
On a block-by-block basis, the reaction from the community
has been good, according to Sigman. Although in some cases
the drug dealing may have moved just one block over, one block
has been reclaimed. With effective seeding and community support,
the dealers will never return. But there remains a lot of work
to be done.
"Drugs and drug dealing are so rampant in our Weed and
Seed area, many people don't see the small growing impact," Sigman
said.
Sigman believes he has made a dent in the dealers' distribution
network and that has hurt street dealers. The asset forfeiture
initiative also has brought about a better relationship between
the D.A.'s office and the Weed and Seed sites, he said.
For further information, contact:
Scott
Sigman
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