Division of State Police

Interest Earned on Seized Assets

The Division of State Police maintains control of any cash that is seized during State criminal investigations. When the adjudication relating to such investigations is completed, any forfeited funds and related interest are to be deposited into a special revenue fund and used for enhanced law enforcement purposes. During the 45-month period covered by our audit, the account containing the seized cash had an average daily balance of more than $5 million.

We examined whether the Division earned as much interest as it could have on this cash during this 45-month period, and found that it had not. In fact, because the Division did not use the same short-term investment practices as New York State, it earned $593,200 less than it could have earned during the period. We also determined that, contrary to requirements, the Division did not transfer any of the interest that was earned to the special revenue fund. We recommended that the Division improve its investment practices for this interest and transfer the interest to the special revenue fund on a regular basis.

For a complete copy of Report 2009-S-57 click here.