DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An analysis of data from Iowa law enforcement agencies shows they seize cash, vehicles and other private property from at least 1,000 people a year without proof the property was acquired as a result of a crime or was being used to help people commit crimes.

The Des Moines Register reports  the seizures have increased markedly since the 1980s, when state and local governments reported fewer than two dozen such cases annually. The civil forfeiture laws have let helped the agencies pump millions of dollars into their budgets, mostly in uncontested cases.

Iowa County Attorneys Association guidelines say prosecutors are supposed to use forfeiture to deter future criminal activity. But critics of the practice say it has strayed beyond the original intent of the state’s forfeiture laws.