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I wrote my rep because of this. If anyone wants to use pieces of this to save time writing their own rep, feel free: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find
by epicureanideal 11y ago
I wrote my rep because of this. If anyone wants to use pieces of this to save time writing their own rep, feel free:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
I'll keep this email brief because either you'll know about the issue already, or you'll want to do your own research (or ask your staff to do so). Most people won't take the time to email you, but this is probably the #1 most important issue for law abiding citizens at this time.
Civil forfeiture, which permits cash or property of US citizens to be seized by police without being convicted of a crime, is completely opposed to all the principles of democratic government. If someone is convicted of a crime and the cash or property relates to the crime, sure, take it. But I am reading more and more stories in the news about merely unlucky fellow citizens having their cash stolen from them by the police (I use the word stolen because the seizure is unjust in this case) merely because "carrying a lot of cash is suspicious".
You might be interested to read the Peelian Principles of policing a democracy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peelian_Principles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peelian_Principles) which were created for the Metropolitan Police Force in London in 1829. The same principles would be effective today for maintaining public support for the police.
When the people we as citizens entrust to keep order create the impression that they are not trustworthy and are a potential danger to us, this is a serious problem. When citizens see a police car or see a police officer walk by, they should feel safe, not fearful. That is less and less the case.
Thank you.