2C:35A-2. Declaration of Policy and Legislative Findings.
2C:35A-2. Declaration of policy and legislative findings.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following:
a.
Persons who engage in drug trafficking activities for profit are a form
of professional criminal, and deserve enhanced punishment that is
specially adapted to remove the economic incentives inherent in such
criminal activities.
b. It
shall be the overriding objective of the provisions of this chapter to
eliminate to the greatest extent possible the economic incentives
inherent in commercial drug distribution activities at all levels within
the drug distribution chain. In order to accomplish this objective, it
is appropriate to impose stern economic sanctions in the form of
monetary penalties against certain convicted drug offenders. So as to
ensure that such economic sanctions are specially adapted and
proportionate to the true nature, extent and profitability of the
specific criminal activities involved, such monetary penalties should in
appropriate cases be based upon a multiple of the street level value of
all the illicit substances involved. The use of such a mechanism for
calculating an appropriate monetary penalty will help to offset and
overcome the perception of some drug offenders, and especially those who
are well insulated within a drug trafficking network, that they face
only a comparatively low risk of immediate detection and punishment. The
Legislature, by adoption of the Comprehensive Drug Reform Act,
N.J.S.2C:35-1 et al., recognized the utility of such a mechanism by
providing for the imposition of discretionary cash fines which may be
based upon three, or in some cases five, times the street value of the
illicit drugs involved.
c.
The imposition of monetary penalties pursuant to this act is intended to
serve as an adjunct to forfeiture actions, which are designed to
deprive offenders of the proceeds of their criminal activities and of
all property used in furtherance of or to facilitate such illegal
activities. While the seizure and forfeiture of property in accordance
with the provisions of chapters 41 and 64 of this Title and P.L.1994,
c.121 (money laundering) remain a critically important means by which to
reduce the economic incentive inherent in drug trafficking activities,
in many instances, given the efforts undertaken by offenders to conceal
and disguise assets and to resort to complex financial transactions and
money laundering schemes, it has become increasingly difficult for law
enforcement agencies to establish to the required degree of certainty
that a given asset or interest in property is subject to forfeiture.
Accordingly, it is necessary and appropriate to impose an in personam
debt against the defendant which may be satisfied by proceeding against
any asset or interest in property belonging to the defendant, whether or
not such property can be directly or indirectly linked to criminal
activity.
d. In
order to ensure the maximum deterrent effect of imposing such specially
adapted economic sanctions as are required pursuant to the provisions
of this act, it shall be the policy of this State to enforce the
judgment and to collect the entire debt, or the greatest possible
portion thereof, as soon as is feasible following the imposition of the
penalty, taking full advantage, where necessary, of this States long arm
jurisdiction and the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution
of the United States.
