Originally Posted by
Flaflyer
I suspect some local police departments come to depend on this stolen I mean seized money to balance their budgets. I read of local departments confiscating hundreds of thousands of dollars year after year. The conflict of interest is too tempting. The police are addicted to drug money just like a heroin addict is addicted to his drugs.
They arrest a local drug dealer and confiscate $200,000. They make a "procedural mistake regarding evidence" on the arrest and the dealer does not get convicted because the police do not want him convicted. They want him back on the street. Six months later, they pop him again and keep another $200,000. The dealer is happy, being out of jail and in business. The "loss due to stolen cash" is a cost of doing business no more than if he was bribing the cops. The cops get to say "We're not getting bribed", but the drug money ends up in their pocket just the same. What's the difference? None that I can see.
I believe many police departments would not "win the war on drugs" even if it was possible. The want it to continue to justify large and ever larger departments and to be able to steal cash from drug dealers when they need some cash. The cops are addicted to the drug cash and will not kick the habit.
IF confiscating cash is allowed, the department making the confiscation should NOT be allowed to keep the cash. Pass a law requiring it to be donated to the local United Way. Do not let the cops be rewarded for questionable cash steals.
I'm sure SS31 will disagree. Oh, well. Happy New Year.
Questionable cash steals? I can tell you have many years of LE experience under your belt. I sit back and chuckle at people like you who only know our job from the inaccuracies the media decides to air at 5 & 6pm. If you worked a day in our shoes, you might have something accurate or meaningful to contribute to the conversation. Oh wait, you caught me, my goal in life is to seize money from drug dealers and watch them go free so I can do it over again. We're all as corrupt as the slum we're taking it from. Get a clue.
On a side note, my agency has no officers who are part of the DEA and we do not get a penny from the seizures.
You, Ari and others still want to ignore the fact that this type of action has been going on for years, and it will continue. TSA is just a scapegoat because the checkpoints are currently under their control rather than the FAA. Like I said before, I don't recall any forums bashing FAA and/or the contract security companies who were doing the exact same thing long before TSA came along. It's just easier to go after them because of the dislike by you and others here at FT.
Hmmm - I carry melatonin and some vitamins fairly frequently on trips. They're in baggies. Sometimes they're buried in an available pocket inside my bag. Guess I can end up in a heap 'o trouble?
Not that it's enforced greatly, but many states make it unlawful to carry prescription meds in anything but the containers they were issued in. I wouldn't necessarily call it a "heap 'o trouble," but yes, out on the street you can be arrested for it.
You hit the nail on the head. His job is airport security-- his job is not to help you do your job.
By policy, he is supposed to report suspicious items discovered during an administrative (and consensual) search. Again, whether you believe the policy is bologne is another question. Take that up with the suits in DC, but as far as the TSO, they're doing what they were told. You guys are wanting to punish the messenger.
You sure tote water well!
Did you say something??