Police can once again take cash and property from people suspected of crimes, with the help of federal officials. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions revived a long-curtailed civil asset forfeiture policy Wednesday, with new safeguards to curb abuse.

Under the Obama administration, the practice of asset forfeiture was limited because of complaints of abuse.

The Justice Dept. sees this as an important tool to combat crime, particularly drug cases.

How does it work?

Called adoptive forfeiture, the program lets police skirt more restrictive state laws to seize property under federal law. 

Under the program, up to 80 percent of the proceeds from a seizure can be shared with local agencies. Some police departments see this money as an important way to shore up funding. 

More than $6 billion in forfeited funds has been shared with state and local law enforcement since fiscal year 2000, according to the Justice Department’s inspector general.

The Justice Dept. says the program helps strip suspects of proceeds from their activities, deters crime and can be used to compensate victims. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the move will help fight drug dealing that has perpetuated the nation’s opioid epidemic.

“If we seize and forfeit criminal proceeds from drug dealing, it’s going to result in less money to reinvest in drugs by that dealer,” he said. “And it’s going to have a deterrent effect.”

What are the changes?

The new changes include requiring more details from police agencies on probable cause to justify a seizure, and requiring the Justice Dept. to decide more quickly whether to take on local seizures.

The government also has to let property owners know their rights and the status of their belongings within 45 days of the seizure.

Another change makes it harder for police to seize less than $10,000 unless they have a state warrant, have made an arrest in the case, have taken other contraband, such as drugs, or the owner has confessed to a crime.

The previous policy set the threshold at only $5,000. 

But critics say the new rules don't fix the larger problem, which is that some police departments still rely on the proceeds to help foot their bills. It creates a profit incentive.

Some top-ranking Republicans found the move troubling, especially since a number of states already have their own laws safeguarding abuse.

"I'm glad that at least some safeguards will be put in place, but their plan to expand civil forfeiture is, really, just as concerning as it was before," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California. "Criminals shouldn't be able to keep the proceeds of their crime, but innocent Americans shouldn't lose their right to due process, or their private property rights, in order to make that happen."

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, had been pushing for tighter regulations with Democrats in the Senate. He says his pleas have been ignored.

“Instead of revising forfeiture practices in a manner to better protect Americans’ due process rights, the DOJ seems determined to lose in court before it changes its policies for the better,” said Lee.

The ACLU called it another step by Sessions to “bring back the failed and racist War on Drugs.”

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.