What Will Police Buy With Forfeiture Funds?

The Milwaukee Police Department has a lot of plans for how it will spend the $1.48 million received this year from the federal government’s asset forfeiture sharing program.

The money comes from property seized during arrests involving drug trafficking, child pornography, money laundering and other criminal activity. It is funded by the seizure of cash found on a drug dealer, the sale of electronics seized from those convicted of distributing child pornography and other federal crimes.

MPD intends to use its latest proceeds to purchase everything from a new navigational system for its harbor patrol boat to a new freezer for its ice cream truck. “A lot of boring stuff,” said MPD chief of staff Nick DeSiato in presenting the annual plan to the Common Council’s Finance & Personnel Committee last Thursday.

But there are plenty of items that aren’t so boring and will have an impact on how the police department operates.

In a presentation, DeSiato said the department would be buying a BOSS II scanner, a seated metal detector designed to search those in custody for weapons hidden under their clothing.

The department is also planning to use $15,000 to buy a new pole camera for the specialized investigations division in addition to other cameras. MPD is budgeting $300,000 for software, including a replacement for its early intervention program that is used for internal affairs, use of force and vehicle pursuit investigations.

A total of $30,000 would be set aside for traffic enforcement, which includes equipment for cadets and recruits, “slow down” signage, the ice cream truck freezer and MPD’s share of funding for a partnership with the Milwaukee Fire Department and Andre Lee Ellis‘ We Got This organization to buy hydroponic garden equipment for a community garden.

MPD intends to spend $85,000 on departmentwide training for “Fair & Impartial Policing,” polygraph examiners and other department training needs.

Other funds will be used for the city’s annual rent to house the mounted patrol at MKE Urban Stables ($100,000), National Night Out and other police district programming ($45,000) and unidentified, previously-approved items that couldn’t be purchased last year due to supply chain delays and other issues ($200,000).

“We got a couple McGruff suits this year. Hopefully they don’t show up at the same place at the same time,” said DeSiato of the crime-fighting mascot.

The seated BOSS II scanner is part of a $675,000 “equipment and supplies” category that includes new lockers at district stations, office furniture, protective equipment, the patrol boat navigation system and motor, and auto theft deterrent supplies.

“These are items we could otherwise not afford within our budget limits,” said DeSiato.

The department can’t rely on the same amount of money each year. And federal regulations, according to an MPD presentation, limit what it can be spent on. “We do a lot of vetting on the requests. A lot of the requests are denied because they fall on the ‘nice to have’ versus ‘need to have,'” said DeSiato.

An MPD standard operating procedure calls for no money seizure to take place on a federal case unless it exceeds $5,000. DeSiato told the committee that federal regulations effectively push that minimum amount to $10,000 in most cases.

With few exceptions, the funds are dispersed following a conviction. Under a 1984 federal law, the funds are shared between law enforcement entities to encourage cooperation. “Sometimes we just wake up and there is a $300,000 deposit,” said DeSiato. “We’ve historically [annually] been in the $700,000 to $900,000 range.”

The department doesn’t immediately spend the money it receives. DeSiato said MPD maintains a balance in the fund so it can react to a “pressing need” that comes up. A report submitted to the council says there is currently $2.67 million in the account.

The committee unanimously recommended approval of the necessary funds transfer to enable the spending. The full council is scheduled to vote on the measure Tuesday, July 12.

MPD also receives funds from state-level forfeitures, but at a much lesser rate. The last available report, from July 2021, shows $234,143 in an account with no expenses or deposits in the prior year.

Related Legislation: File 220212