City of South Fulton lays out new policy for how and when it will seize assets

The City of South Fulton laid out its new policy for how and when it will seize assets Tuesday night.

The new policy comes two months after a Channel 2 Action News investigation story that showed South Fulton police was not providing public record of what they take, in violation of state law.

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Councilmember Helen Willis spoke about the message South Fulton Police wanted to send Tuesday evening as they reveled their new police on seizing criminal assets.

“The whole premise behind this is to destroy criminal enterprise,” said Willis. “We will not typically go after anything under $500, we will make sure it’s more than an ounce of marijuana.”

Channel 2 Action News Investigative reporter Justin Gray talked to several people who had their property seized by the South Fulton police department.

In one case, the owner of a van that was seized wasn’t charged with a crime.

Under Georgia law, police can seize your property without ever having to prove you did anything wrong in a court of law. But they do have to provide a public record of what they seize to the state.

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Now, there is a new policy and procedure for South Fulton Police’s Asset and Forfeiture Investigations unit.

“We have defined what statutes we will follow to make sure we are in compliance with state policies,” said Willis.

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