Though Nixon did not coin the phrase “war on drugs” until the early 1970s, strong anti drug positions were already popular with elected officials and law enforcement. The 1973 creation of the Drug Enforcement Agency was impetus for a significant increase in drug-related incarceration, though a more significant increase of drug-related incarceration occurred in the 1980s alongside the birth of private, for-profit prisons. The end of the 20th century saw the conception of a national sentiment that drugs were the biggest security concern to the American people. The budget allocated to fight the war on drugs increased to the billions, much of which was distributed to police departments to aid them in catching drug users and/or dealers. The United States’ government’s proclamation of a war on drugs and their subsequent policy reforms occurred simultaneously to a significant increase in civil asset forfeiture--likely attributed to the heightened anti-drug sentiment

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Even if the main criminals of an organization are incarcerated, they will be replaced by others who would continue illegal activities, unless their financial assets are removed. Thus, civil forfeiture intends to dismantle the economic infrastructure of drug trafficking networks. Civil forfeiture considers the property as guilty, rather than the owner, and it may exist even if there is not a criminal action. Therefore, it is claimed that police agencies have chosen easy targets, such as wealthy drug users rather than major drug traffickers. Consequently, it has been particularly challenged on the basis of the Excessive Fines, Double Jeopardy, and Due Process Clauses. The use of criminal forfeiture instead of civil forfeiture and the elimination of the equitable sharing provision are considered to be the primary solutions.

This thesis explores the influences of provincial grant programs on Canadian streetscape camera systems. Using qualitative interviews (N=32) and document analysis, the study explores the policymaking processes and outcomes of six Ontario cities that have engaged with the Civil Remedies and Proceeds of Crime grants. Grant programs have not only provided the financial support to facilitate the establishment or expansion of camera systems, but they have also encouraged particular patterns of implementation, design and operation of Canadian streetscape systems through the processes and conditions of the grant program, as well as through the encouragement of regional networking, policy learning and policy diffusion via policy tourism. While the Civil Remedies and Proceeds of Crime grants have influenced some similarities in streetscape camera systems, variation exists, particularly concerning privacy policies, due to idiosyncratic interpretation and adoption of diffused policies and an ambiguous and unclear privacy protection framework. / Graduate / 0626 / 0627 / dennymah@uvic.ca