As an addendum to the above, to contrast your idealistic fantasy view with real world data, I'd draw your attention to "Policing for Profit: The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture." And if you elect to read it, then keep in mind it was written before these new police powers were granted. Some relevant quotes:
Quote:
Under state and federal civil asset forfeiture laws, law enforcement agencies can seize and keep property suspected of involvement in criminal activity. Unlike criminal asset forfeiture, with civil forfeiture, a property owner need not be found guilty of a crime—or even charged—to permanently lose her cash, car, home or other property.
Quote:
In most states and under federal law, law enforcement can keep some or all of the proceeds from civil forfeitures. This incentive has led to concern that civil forfeiture encourages policing for profit, as agencies pursue forfeitures to boost their budgets at the expense of other policing priorities.
Quote:
...in most places, owners bear the burden of establishing their innocence. In other words, with civil forfeiture, property owners are effectively guilty until proven innocent.
Quote:
Once your property is taken, the government will—perhaps—send you a notice letting you know that the burden is on you to try to get your property back. If you do not respond within the right time frame and in the proper manner, law enforcement automatically gets to keep your seized property. But even if you do try to win back your property in court, you will have to wait several months, if not more than a year, to get a hearing. At that hearing, you will find yourself in a legal maze where the
government holds most of the advantages, and you carry most of the burdens.
And lastly, but most importantly:
Quote:
Eighty percent of persons whose property was seized by the federal government for forfeiture were never even charged with a crime.
They go on to discuss, at length, how LE agencies at state and federal levels are not only dependent on this income, but actually include forecasted proceeds into their budgets.
Now combine the profit motive they illustrate in black and white in their 128 page paper, with increased scope to conduct paramilitary type raids where illicit activity is suspected and a warrant no longer required, and tell me again who's living in theory land.
http://www.ij.org/images/pdf_folder/other_pubs/assetforfeituretoemail.pdf