Law enforcement agencies operating in Callaway County seized property worth $63,773.92 in 2019, down from $79,887 in 2018.
Last week, Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway's office released its annual compilation of Criminal Activity Forfeiture Act seizures. State law requires each county's prosecuting attorney to report CAFA seizures to the state auditor and Department of Public Safety each year.
Under CAFA, law enforcement officials are allowed to seize property "of every kind" - including both cash and other items - they believe to have been used in the course of or acquired through criminal activity.
In Callaway County, law enforcement seized property 13 times. Charges were filed in 11 of those cases. That rate is well above the state average: across Missouri, charges were filed in just under half of cases involving CAFA seizures.
Of the seized property, $1,160 was returned, while $58,799 is still pending a final decision. About 6 percent, or $3,814, had its status marked "other," which indicates it's being used as evidence in a case, said Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Wilson.
If a defendant is acquitted of a criminal charge or the charge is dismissed, Wilson said, the assets are returned. If there's a conviction, a CAFA hearing will be held to determine if there's sufficient evidence to prove the assets are the product of criminal activity. If that proves to be the case, the proceeds are turned over to the county treasurer.
"From there, the proceeds are sent to the state where they are placed in a fund to be distributed to school districts across the state," Wilson said. "Despite some popular belief, the funds are not kept and used by local law enforcement, nor are they used to fund law enforcement agencies. While that may be true in federal criminal asset forfeiture proceedings, it is not true for state criminal asset forfeiture proceedings."
Wilson broke down the total seizures by agency:
Callaway County Sheriff's Office seized $8,865.10
Fulton Police Department seized $8,148
Missouri State Highway Patrol seized $46,759.82
Though property seized 2019 was worth less than that seized in 2018, Callaway County law enforcement actually seized property on more occasions in 2019. In 2018, they carried out CAFA seizures 11 times, leading to seven charges.
Callaway County law enforcement seized property worth considerably more than law enforcement in similarly sized counties - with one exception. Camden County, which has a population of about 300 fewer people than Callaway County (population 44,332 as of 2010) reported no property seizures in 2019. Butler County, with a population of 42,794, seized $35,062.
That difference may be due to location. Callaway County sits at the intersection of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 54. A quick glance at the Missouri State Highway Patrol's arrest reports shows frequent arrests related to drug trafficking and other crimes along I-70 in the county. Camden and Butler County see less traffic.
Officials in Phelps County (population 45,156), meanwhile, reported $924,987 in seizures. Of that money, $866,100 was transferred to the Equitable Sharing Program, in which the Department of Justice takes 20 percent of seized assets but returns up to 80 percent to the law enforcement jurisdiction. Callaway County law enforcement agencies did not transfer any property to federal agencies in 2019.
Statewide
Seizures were down across the state.
Missouri's 116 counties reported a total seized property value of $5,914,967 across 493 civil asset forfeitures. Charges were filed in only 249 cases.
Wilson said he's unsure what caused the statewide decrease.
"I've not seen any trend toward more or fewer seizures, so it is difficult to say whether the current decrease is a trend we will see continue in future years," he added.
By comparison, in 2018, law enforcement seized $9,102,717 across 699 CAFA seizures, resulting in charges on 318 occasions. This represents a decrease of about 35 percent between 2018 and 2019.
Approximately 45 percent of the total seized in 2019 throughout Missouri was transferred to federal agencies. The remainder was either returned (13 percent), transferred to the state (1 percent) or still pending a final decision (40 percent). Approximately .1 percent of reported seizures did not include the disposition of the seized property.