> Why would the police keep the money? It doesn't get to keep other confiscated money, does it? Wouldn't the state be the "default" recipient? That really depe

> Why would the police keep the money? It doesn't get to keep other confiscated money, does it? Wouldn't the state be the "default" recipient? That really depends on the jurisdiction. Many police departments in the US self fund via confiscations, sometimes even not as a penalty for breaking the law. In a big city, that's a small part of the budget. In some more rural counties, it can be a surprisingly large amount of the budget. See "civil asset forfeiture"