In Oklahoma, where police once attempted to seize thousands of dollars from a Burmese Christian band for no reason and a sheriff was indicted for extortion and bribery for abusing the state’s forfeiture rules, the state is actually making it easier for police to legally steal people’s stuff.

Oklahoma’s Highway Patrol has gotten their mitts on devices that allow officers to scan pre-paid cards in people’s possession and either freeze or seize the funds.

As Oklahoma Watch explains, this technology isn’t new, but was developed starting in 2012 to be used by the Department of Homeland Security against international drug cartels using pre-paid debit cards to move money. But, as we’ve seen repeatedly by now, every technology tool used by federal officials eventually starts trickling down to local law enforcement:… read more at Reason.com