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Property forfeiture has become one of the more controversial law enforcement techniques currently employed in the War on Drugs. The extensive use of administrative and civil‐judicial forfeiture proceedings has resulted in increased criticism of the program because of their limited protections for suspects and relaxed burdens of proof for the government. This paper employs a qualitative and quantitative approach in examining the merits of the criminal forfeiture proceeding, a seldom used alternative for the favored administrative and civil proceedings. The authors argue for an increased utilization of criminal forfeiture to effectively meet the goals of law enforcement and protect the individual rights of property owners.