Personal property used by criminals may be forfeited sans court order in certain conditions
Ontario is reinvesting $1.5 million in cash and proceeds seized from criminals through the Civil Remedies Grant Program to assist law enforcement agencies and community partners in fighting back against the crime and victimization that threaten their communities.
“Our government is committed to strengthening every available tool, including civil forfeiture, to help police, prosecutors and local partners confront and dismantle the criminal networks that prey on our communities,” said Doug Downey, Ontario’s attorney general in the provincial government’s news release.
The initiatives of the 18 funded community projects seeking to support victims of crime, to break the cycle of crime or to help in preventing intimate partner, family, gun and gang violence are the following, according to a backgrounder:
Changes to strengthen the Civil Remedies Act, passed under the Smarter and Stronger Justice Act, permit personal property used by a criminal for illegal activities to be forfeited without a court order if no interested individual has disputed the forfeiture.
The Civil Remedies Grant Program enables the forfeiture of property or money resulting from crime. Eligible applicants include Ontario police services, not-for-profit groups, community agencies and Indigenous communities, and organizations aiming to assist victims of crime or promote crime prevention.
Last year, the province reinvested $2.5 million in cash and proceeds from criminals to fund 33 local projects to combat human trafficking in Ontario communities.