The number of drug arrests and seizures dramatically increased in 1984 due to the Comprehensive Crime Act. This allowed law enforcement to circumvent state and local laws, resulting in confiscations approximately doubling every year in 1985 until it reached almost $5 billion in total value in 1992. It essentially increased the "perks" afforded to police officers and departments. Because this forfeiture raises the costs of doing drugs, it acts as a sin tax, and the justifications for it are the same as those used to justify sin taxes.