![]() Local police can circumvent strict state asset forfeiture laws by claiming cases are federal in nature due to the participation in a joint task force. There are other pernicious consequences resulting from the rise of joint police task forces. According to those conducting the study, “Not only were data insufficient to estimate what task forces accomplished, data were inadequate to even tell what the task forces did as routine work.” Ironically, the Obama administration couldn’t even conduct a cost-benefit study on joint police task forces because records were almost nonexistent. As Balko illustrates, In practice, joint task forces can “pick whichever laws - state or federal - afforded them the most power and the least accountability.” The state and federal law enforcement officers both dodged prosecution by playing ping-pong with state and federal jurisdictions. Balko’s article chronicles the story of a man who was beaten senseless after undercover members of a joint task force mistook him for a wanted individual. This jurisdictional neverland also allows members of these task forces to escape accountability or punishment when they use excessive force, destroy property, or simply engage in sloppy police work. With little oversight, they have a record of overstepping and misdeeds, from excessive force to shootings, to mistaken raids, to straight-up corruption.” And even when somebody is technically in charge of the task force, they often give it free rein. Often, it’s impossible to identify any local officials overseeing their work. As Balko explained, they often go about their business with little or no oversight. And then there are the countless temporary joint task forces created every year for special investigations and law enforcement initiatives.ĭue to their nature, joint task forces operate in a legal twilight zone that gives them wide latitude. Attorney General runs 18 task forces through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program. The ATF oversees the National Explosives Task Force and forms task forces for specific investigations. The FBI administers 160 violent gang task forces. Through a program called Project Safe Neighborhood, the Department of Justice ran another 86 taskforces as of 2018.
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