Punishing people through property: Strategic task force inspections at the nexus of criminal and civil legal systems

Abstract

In this article, we investigate a largely unexplored policing mechanism: Strategic Task Force (STF) inspections in Chicago. This process exists at the intersection of civil and criminal legal systems: properties affiliated with criminal drug or gang activity are swept by building inspectors and police officers, with the explicit purpose of finding code violations and prompting civil legal action against the owner. Using two datasets of inspected buildings, we demonstrate that those who own properties targeted by the STF more often face financial and legal hurdles such as foreclosures, ownership transfers, and property restrictions. This finding coheres with qualitative court data, which demonstrates a pervasive punitive attitude in STF cases. We argue that STF inspections amount to a denial of criminal due process for residents in communities of color, punishing alleged offenders via a civil process with much more flexible procedural standards. Our analysis of punishing people through property highlights the need for expanding standards of criminal due process to civil contexts to guarantee defendants’ substantive rights.