Keep Bailing

The almost instantaneous dissemination of  information is just part of life these days.  If Justin Bieber has a new hair cut, someone seeing him leaving the salon will inevitably tweet about it.  If Dog the Bounty Hunter is seen running through the streets of Los Angeles, that’s bound to inspire more than a few people to post the note to their Facebook page.

Pop culture may have it’s place on social media platforms, but these types of websites are oftentimes key marketing venues for companies to get the word out about who they are, what they do, and why they’re good at it.

Whereas brick-and-mortar businesses are able to utilize signage to attract eyes, companies that work within a virtual office don’t necessarily have that same luxury. Because of this, places like Facebook and Twitter have become, in some senses, the new “Main Street”.

Recently, @888bailbond landed itself in the top ten of About Bail’s 50 bail professionals to follow.   Rankings were chosen based on the types of messages being tweeted, activity level, and “tweet relevance”.

@888bailbond currently has 309 followers (and growing) and tweets several times per day, with topics ranging from information about bail, jail happenings, legislative changes, DUI checkpoint information and others. Follow us!

Colorado bill SB11-186, known as the Alternative Bond bill, failed to become a part of Colorado legislation when the 2011 legislative session ended. The purpose of the Alternative Bond is to give Colorado courts the ability to dabble in the bail bond business by accepting a premium that is usually charged by a bail bond agent in exchange for posting bail. The courts, unlike a bail bondsman, would not have to worry about paying the full bond amount if a defendant fails to appear in court and is not brought into custody quickly.

SB11-186 squeaked by in the Senate vote, passing by one (18-17). There wasn’t enough time to get the bill through the House before the end of the session. Alteratively and hopefully, the commercial bail bond industry Read more »

The U.S. Department of Justice released information according to a study they conducted that found the overall jail population is at a decline as “commercial bail” (or use of bail bondsmen) continues to increase.

The jail population, overall, has declined from 2007 to 2009.

According to Michael Hough, a public safety fellow through the American Legislative Exchange Council, better known as ALEC stated, “This latest study disproves the myth that the use of bail bonds increases the number of people in jail. We now know that this connection cannot be made. The increased use of commercial bail can actually help to alleviate overcrowding in jails.”

An earlier study conducted by the Department of Justice, revealed that the number of individuals who were released from jail on a commercial bail bond, since 1992, increased by 100 percent.

Currently, over 40 percent of individuals released from jail are bailed out via a bail bondsman.

In 2009, the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies, a lobbying association for the elimination of commercial bail bonds, released a report that claimed Read more »

PBUS, Professional Bail Agents of the United States, is scheduled to hold it’s annual Winter conference February 21-24 in Las Vegas, NV at the Flamingo Hotel.

Last month, the PBUS held a small gathering in San Antonio to propose speakers for the upcoming conference and since then, have confirmed the following keynote guest speakers. Beth and Duane Chapman, from one of A&E’s top series, “Dog the Bounty Hunter” are scheduled to do several things at the upcoming PBUS. Beth Chapman will be speaking about her opinion of the bail industry and its outlook for the future. The following day, both Duane and Beth will be speaking on behalf of their hit series.

Additionally, PBUS will be holding a raffle for new members and their sponsors. Whoever brings a new colleague to PBUS will be automatically entered to win a lunch date with Duane and Beth Chapman.

Also scheduled to speak this year is “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” Joe Arpaio. Coming from Arizona, Sheriff Arpaio is a strict law-and-order representative that, in his years of service, has declared war on illegal immigration, forced inmates to wear pink and sleep in tents, and he has emphasized the punishment element of incarceration.  Sheriff Arpaio is quoted as saying [to inmates] “If you don’t like it here, don’t come back!”

Sheriff Arpaio is a controversial speaker and will be sharing his thoughts about the bail industry as well as the criminal justice system.

This year’s PBUS should be an exciting one with a lot of great information floating around as well as a great place for networking and learning more about this industry.

According to the California Department of Insurance, Todd Russell Dolezal, who is the owner of San Luis Obispo Bail Bonds, is facing four different charges associated with corrupted business operations. Specifically, Dolezal is being charged with one felony charge of criminal conspiracy, two felony charges of bail bond soliciting inside a jail, and another felony charge of failure to complete and keep records of his bail solicitor practice as well as keeping them open for inspection by the insurance company.

Along with Delozal, Read more »

The national network, ExpertBail, named Greg Rynerson Bail Bonds an expert bail bonds company.

Located in Los Angeles, Greg Rynerson Bail Bonds is a family-owned and operated company consisting of licensed bail agents with many years of experience.

ExpertBail is a networking organization that acknowledges the best in this field. They distinguish their selection of bail bondsman by the companies who Read more »

Reportedly, a proposal submitted to the Board of Supervisors suggests that bail bonds companies will no longer be able to have free advertising at San Bernardino jail facilities.

Sheriff Rod Hoops, proposal states that the county would need to charge bail bond companies a fee to be able to have their services listed throughout their county facilities.

At this time, bail bonds companies approved by t Read more »

The Professional Bail Agents of the United States (PBUS) association’s annual midyear meeting is approaching. This four day event will be held at the Millennium Park Hotel in Chicago July 21- 24. This will be their last meeting before they celebrate the 30th year anniversary in February, 2011. Bail professionals from all over the US meet here and are given the opportunity to network, attend and participate in lectures as well as attend association meetings.

According to PBUS President, Linda Braswell, there was some controversy on the location of the event. Apparently there were some PBUS members that were not in favor of this location because Illinois happens to be a no-bail state. Braswell stated that having the meeting in Chicago would allow them an opportunity to get them to support the bail system.

Braswell said, “They’re (Illinois) a 10-percent state, but Read more »

A new measure this week comes out of the Missouri House Rules Committee which proposes that bail bonds should be prohibited to be issued for any convicted felons. Starting next year, there will be more accountability in the bail bonds industry in Missouri.

This bill will limit how much bail bondsman can write in terms of bonds for defendants. A committee of judges, bail bondsman, judges and state legislators approved the list of provisions laying out the scope of the bill.

Based on the agencies’ assets, it would determine Read more »

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 »