>it is not likely that US$ 15,000 or US$ 30,000 is something that any police department has in a drawer

I wish that were true. Police in any small town in America could start at lunchtime and have that amount by nightfall. Let me introduce you to "civil asset forfeiture" ( https://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/03/civil-asse... )

There are state and federal version of this, and a "sharing" program to share the loot. It's pure corruption in blatant violation of the US Constitution, but it's good for government/police business (e.g. buys a lot of helicopters, tactical/swat equipment, training, etc.) so it persists.