Pubdate: Fri, 21 Aug 2015 Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Copyright: 2015 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.utsandiego.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386 Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area. Author: David Bejarano Note: Bejarano. Chula Vista's chief of police, is the current president of the California Police Chiefs Association. He is the former police chief of San Diego. PROPOSED LAW MAKES IT EASIER TO RETAIN CRIMINAL ASSETS California is the world's eighth largest economy, and with a large regulated economy comes a large unregulated economy and transnational criminal money laundering schemes. In fact, in 2012, the California Department of Justice found 305 drug-related transnational criminal organizations in California. By comparison, there are only 309 In-N-Out Burger locations in the entire Western United States. It is a sad commentary when it is nearly as easy to launder money as it is to get a burger and fries. Transnational criminal organization activity creates enormous public safety threats for Californians. In the 2012-2013 fiscal year, California state drug task forces disrupted or dismantled 140 drug, money-laundering and gang organizations, arrested nearly 3,000 individuals, rescued 41 drug-endangered children, confiscated 1,000 weapons and seized nearly $28.5 million in U.S. currency in anti-narcotic law enforcement actions statewide. Many of these operations are in conjunction with our federal law enforcement partners, who provide local law enforcement with additional tools, bodies and financing. Sadly, a very effective tool in battling transnational criminal enterprises is at risk of being taken away. California Senate Bill 443 will require a criminal conviction before the accumulated criminal assets of a transnational criminal operation can be taken away. Imagine a drug dealer who has accumulated millions of dollars selling drugs. Under SB 443, our hypothetical drug dealer is able to transfer their assets prior to their conviction, allowing for the larger criminal enterprise operations to continue. Is there anyone who could seriously argue that that dealer should be able to still keep the accumulated millions derived from those illegal sales? Should a bank robber whose conviction is overturned on appeal be permitted to keep the proceeds from his armed robbery? The ability to forfeit the criminal assets of these transnational criminal organizations is far more destructive to their criminal operations than sending one or two of their members to prison. A successful civil forfeiture action can cripple a transnational criminal enterprise, assuring that they will be unable to prey on the public. So what are these transnational criminal operations doing in California? Many are involved in human trafficking, narcotics trafficking and money laundering. All three of these activities have adverse effects on Californian's quality of life. California is one of the top two states in which drug money is both destined and seized. We trade the title of "No. 1 state" with Texas on a semi-regular basis, and although I would be happy to never see California carry the title again, enactment of SB 443 would make that hope a remote one. The flow of dirty money fuels criminal operations and supplies these organizations with the means to further their reach. In fact, an estimated 1.5 to 2 percent of our state's gross domestic product is laundered annually. That's more than $30 billion a year. In addition to permitting transnational criminal cartels to retain their criminal proceeds, SB Bill 443 will cost California's general fund as well as local law enforcement about $80 million annually in lost revenues. Here's why: On July 24, the U.S. Department of Justice began informing California law enforcement agencies that if SB 443 is enacted into law, all California state and local agencies would be ineligible to participate in Department of Justice Equitable Sharing Programs. This means not only will local law enforcement and the state of California suffer a severe revenue loss, but that large joint state and federal task forces, responsible for much of the work against transnational crime, would inevitably be disbanded. In effect, SB 443's impact will be to enable transnational criminal operations to operate more freely. At a time of increasing transnational crime, the California Legislature should think twice before passing legislation that will lead to the abandonment of state and federal task forces, take away crime-fighting tools from law enforcement and permit organized criminal enterprises to retain their criminally acquired assets. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom