Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

FBI Keeps Seized Computers up to Five Years

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the even-the-innocent-get-punished dept.

Zorro turned us on to an NYT article that says law enforcement agencies routinely seize hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of computers and hard drives as evidence, but have so few computer experts that confiscated equipment can gather dust for months or years until someone decides whether or not they contain criminal information. The story also says that, even if you're innocent, once the cops grab your computer they can keep it until the statute of limitations on the alleged crime runs out, which is typically five years. (Free NYT reg. required to read.)

1 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Law enforcement out of control. by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 5
    Law enforcement in the US in general is out of control, and the constitutional protections we used to enjoy are being eroded or ignored, due to the hysteria of fear about crime and drugs. Currently we imprison a larger percentage of our population that any other country in the world (a little over one percent of our population, if I remember.)

    Vehicular seizure for mere suspicion of drug use has become a normal practice (one that, by the way, disproportionately targets blacks and latinos) - police in many states do not even need to arrest a suspect or charge them with anything, and they can simply take and sell their vehicle. It has become a very profitable enterprise for many departments.

    The ACLU has a good resource page with links to information about some of the abuses - both illegal and currently legal - that law enforcement agencies are engaging in, but one of my favorite sites is this one, run by a former LA policeman who began documenting police abuses and racism after he was attacked by another cop while operating undercover - he now leads a non-profit group that 'stings' officers with hidden cameras and recorders in new vehicles being driven by black men, and the results are dismaying. It's a bit disappointing to me that many so-called libertarians seem a lot more concerned about getting rid of environmental and consumer protection regulations and lowering taxes, than actually protecting citizens from direct and overt abuses of power. The selectiveness of law enforcement is excrutiangly painful in light of the G.W. Bush debacle - the powers-that-be are more than happy to jail the rest of us for mistakes that they have the luxury to simply "outgrow."

    Here's another story of police enforcement going out of control, and another.