Keep Bailing

All across America, states are running out of ways to combat prison overcrowding. Prisons are like dams that threaten to break, with an inmate overflow that will be impossible to contain. Many people feel the last two decades of the 20th century were the point at which prison overcrowding began to accelerate faster than states could keep up.

During those times, states tried to fight rising crime rates by meting out stiffer sentences. This tactic did reduce criminal activity, but it also sent jail populations skyrocketing . Recent early release programs that were intended to combat the financially devastating inmate-influx have been sharply criticized by police and the public.

In California, where the state’s 33 prisons are designed to hold 85,000 inmates, these detention centers are packed to the gills with 160,000 men and women — almost double the amount! But at last, there may be a solution to this situation, born from what some might see as an unlikely source: Read more »

Our California Jails Series Continues…

When you think of Santa Barbara you probably think of life enchanted by the Pacific Ocean… a lovely walk down State Street, a visit to the zoo, great food, college students at Isla Vista… As bondsmen, when we think of Santa Barbara along with all of the beauty the County has to offer, we think of the Santa Barbara jail system.

Greg Rynerson Bail Bonds continues with the second in our series on California jails: Inside the Santa Barbara County Jails. Here we will let you in on

• Inmate Processing
• Santa Barbara Jail Operations
• Rehabilitation
• Overcrowding and Recidivism

Is there a jail you’d like to know more about? Let us know. We’ll get you “Inside” (or, if you need we’ll get you out!).

A second Richmond teen has been arrested for his suspected role in a shooting spree that occurred inside a local church, last week. On Saturday night, a Richmond Police officer took the 16-year-old youth into custody on Barrett Avenue during a routine stop. Detectives had issued a warrant for him, and he is now being held at the Richmond Juvenile Hall. Juveniles are not eligible for bail bonds as adults would be. Generally, they are either released to their parents or held at a juvenile detention facility.

Another teen, 15, arrested in connection Read more »

Santa Ana — In continued controversy over early release of inmates, an Orange County Superior Court judge has decided against Sheriff deputy union members, denying their request Thursday to halt the early release of Orange County inmates.

Reportedly, Judge Steven Perk wants the final decision left in the hands of Sheriff Sandra Hutchens stating, “How do I issue an order to the board of supervisors telling the sheriff how to run the jail… if I don’t have jurisdiction over that person, then I don’t have the authority.”

The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs wanted to put a stop Read more »

Reportedly, Oxnard Prosecutor Bill Haney says he intends to file both murder and firearms charges against Jane Laut, 52, the widow and accused killer of 1984 Olympic shot put medalist, David Laut.  Mrs. Lout fatally shot her husband on August 27 in the couple’s Southern California back yard. She was taken into custody on Saturday, February 13, by Oxnard police.

She was arrested without incidence about 9:30 a.m. during a traffic stop near Third and F streets in Oxnard.

Dave Laut, 52, died Read more »

Reportedly, County Sheriff Stan Sniff received the go ahead from his Riverside County Board of Supervisors to hire guards and other staff to run several new cell blocks that were just added to the  Banning jail. The board gave the Sheriff’s Department $12.6 million to do so, after a unanimous vote. This means that 142 new jobs will be available in 2010-11, which is great news for some in a struggling economy.  An additional  $750,000 earmarked for hires was also received by Sniff. 

The Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, aka “Banning Jail“, upgrades are expected to be finished next month, but until now Sheriff Sniff feared he would not have enough funds to hire these security and administrative personnel, thanks to a former $50 million county deficit.

Now, 45 sworn law enforcement personnel are Read more »

A man who allegedly lobbed firebombs at five different targets in San Diego, including two police stations and a middle school, was arrested after a wild high-speed chase that started in Del Mar Heights and ended in Temecula. San Diego resident Edward Batties, 26, was taken into custody on suspicion of arson, one count of evading a police officer, two counts of burglary and two counts of possession of a destructive device.  He is being held at San Diego County Jail on $160,000 bail.

Why did he go on a firebombing rampage that lasted 36-hours?  Investigators looking at possibilities and following up on leads. Once such clue has surfaced in the form of an entry Batties made on his MySpace page more than two years ago.  On it, he lists among his desires: “blowing the world up.”

Batties’ bizarre bomb spree began Read more »

A Sacramento law intended to reduce overcrowding by granting certain inmates at state prisons and county jails an early release is sparking anger throughout California. The law expands early release credits for state prisoners who complete educational and vocational programs by shaving months off their sentences.  Low-level offenders who leave prison will no longer be monitored by the state, making probation violations an unlikely reason for re-arrest.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill for this law last fall in an effort to ease the state’s crushing budget deficit.  As a result, around 6,500 state inmates are due to be freed this year, to save California $500 million.

At least 18 of California’s 58 counties have applied the law retroactively by giving their county jail inmates additional credits for time already served before it took effect.  This has lead to a huge increase of Read more »

Edwin Sunmin Lee, 39, retired from the Los Angeles Police Department in April 2005 after he confessed to a felony charge for filing a false police report.  (Not sure how he got his bail license, because you’re supposed to have a clean record.)

Surprise! – now he is allegedly in trouble once more.  The Hacienda Heights area ex-cop-turned-bail-bondsman has plead not guilty to charges that he illegally solicited bail from inmates in local jails.  County District Attorney’s officials have accused Lee of no less than six felony counts.  The incidents that led to his arrest supposedly took place at the Van Nuys jail on or about July 27, 2008 and Feb. 10, 2009.

Ironically, Lee does not have to be bailed out of jail himself (good thing, because Read more »

This week, we read about the effects of a downturned economy on bail bondsmen in Imperial Valley and in San Bernardino. There’s no doubt this tough economy has played some part in our bail bond industry. Like any other business, bail bond customers now have less money and their homes are worth less as collateral than a couple of years ago. The jails are becoming overcrowded and I hear clients say: “With the economy the way it is, we’re going to let him stay in jail.”

As bondsmen, we’ve already been fighting a singular economic battle for some time, because we can’t compete based on price — we’re regulated by the Department of Insurance and are rates are set with them. In addition, our customers may not be very particular:  They often just want to deal with whoever can help them the fastest.

It used to be that good, honest service was the benchmark of a successful bail bond business.  Call me old fashioned, but I still believe this to be true and I really get steamed when I find myself up against bondsmen who break the law to earn a buck – and who then use bad economic times as their excuse.  So I’d like to dispel the belief that their practices have anything to do with a lousy economy.  I want to Read more »