The aforementioned changes in Michigan law and increased media coverage of forfeiture seem to have had an effect, according to annual reports filed by law enforcement entities.[23] The number of total forfeitures was typically between 10,000 and 11,000 each year prior to these changes. That number dropped by about one-third after the 2015 reporting requirements went into effect. This figure was then nearly cut in half after the 2019 reform that required a conviction before assets could be forfeited in certain cases. This is a significant decrease: There were nearly five times fewer forfeitures in 2020 and 2021 as there were in 2013.
Graphic 1: Civil asset forfeiture statistics, 2009-2021
The number of people who lost their assets but were either not charged with or not convicted of a crime declined significantly as well. There were 956 such cases in 2017, but only 578 in 2021, a 40% reduction. And the overall value of all forfeitures in Michigan — cash, homes, cars, firearms, etc. — steadily declined from $25 million in 2011 to $12 million 10 years later.
It should also be noted that Michigan legalized recreational marijuana through a ballot proposal in 2018 that went into effect a year later. It is likely that this had an effect on forfeitures as well. Forfeiture reports from the years prior to Michigan’s legalization of marijuana showed that law enforcement cited the state’s marijuana law frequently as a reason to seize assets.[24]