When items linked to illegal activity are seized in B.C., where do they go?
Prince George RCMP recently seized $60-grand in cash over the weekend.
According to Corporal Craig Douglass, the property falls under the civil forfeiture act after being used for evidence.
The money from the seized property, anything from cash to cars, is redistributed to communities through crime prevention grants or compensation to eligible victims.
“Every November you can apply for civil forfeiture grants, which are given out April 1st, so there will be a bunch of them given out in April and that happens every year,” said Douglass.
In B.C., Civil forfeiture actions are undertaken by the B.C. Supreme Court, and a small number of cases have been heard in the court of appeal.
“One of the vehicles that we have here was seized from the civil forfeiture process years ago, it was a victim services vehicle and we applied to the government, who provided us with the vehicle.”
Currently, 8 of the 10 provinces in Canada have a civil forfeiture program.