HB22: Reforming Civil Asset Forfeiture, Protecting Property Owners
This bill passed the House 56-17 but was tabled in a Senate committee. Libertas Institute supports this bill. Utah recently received a “D-” from the Institute for Justice for its forfeiture laws, and the potential for...
HB386: Creating Statewide Guidelines for Police Body Cameras
This bill was not considered by the legislature. Libertas Institute supports this bill. Libertas Institute spent hundreds of man hours over the past year working on a comprehensive proposal for the use of body cameras in Utah....
SB82: Restricting Police Officers Using Forcible Entry into Homes
This bill passed the Senate unanimously and passed the House 67-3. It was subsequently signed into law by Governor Herbert. Libertas Institute supports this bill. Last year, Libertas Institute proposed model legislation to...
Police shootings must be addressed to restore public trust
The following op-ed was published this weekend in the Salt Lake Tribune. Last weekend, The Salt Lake Tribune revealed an alarming data point: In recent years, police officers have killed more Utahns than have gang members. As a...
Forfeiture Revenue for Fiscal Year 2014 Revealed
In a presentation to the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee this week, a representative from the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice presented legislators with a report on how much money has been...
Policing for Justice, or Profit?
Throughout the country, police officers are able to seize a person’s property without that person being charged with—let alone convicted of—a crime. The policy giving legal sanction to this action is known as civil asset...