Keep Bailing

Three bail bond companies in Mobile, Alabama are under investigation for illegally accessing the County Sheriff’s Department website, according to a reporter at the Mobile Press-Register. The article by staff reporter Robert McClendon indicated that the Sheriff’s Department ran a sting after complaints were made by other bondsmen in the area.

Apparently, no arrests have been made yet, which is unfortunate. The described cavalier attitude of Mr. Ulmer, a bail bondsman who indicated that everyone on his street was doing the same illegal activity and thus he was seemingly justified, is disturbing to say the least. The bail industry is often asked to regulate itself, which is unfortunate on many levels. Departments charged with overseeing the bail industry, like the Department of Insurance in California, are under budgeted and underfunded. As we all know, tough economic times or not, programs that are in the public spotlight get the attention and the money. The bail industry does not enjoy that benefit.

Mr. McClendon’s article indicates that bondsmen achieve an unfair market advantage by accessing private arrest records. I have to ask: is that all? How about the fact that they broke the law? What about the personal privacy of the individuals arrested – who are presumed innocent – and now have had relatives and associates contacted with the news of their arrest? What about the indication that someone in the Sheriff’s Department supplied bondsmen with the password? Is that individual protecting the community at large?

Photo credit: © Feng Yu – Fotolia.com