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!

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 provided enough evidence and put up a good argument that helped erode support for the bill in the House. When the bill was brought before the House Judiciary Committee, House Sponsor Rep. Waller stated, “I don’t want to see even one bail agent put out of business.”

The Alternative Bond was brought up by the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ). Established in 2007, the CCJJ’s mission statement is “to enhance public safety, to ensure justice, and to ensure protection of the rights of victims through cost-effective use of public resources.”

The CCJJ is comprised of public servants, with a possible three members belonging to the private sector. CCJJ supporters of SB11-186 were chastised by Judiciary Committee members for failing to include representatives from the commercial bail bond industry in the discussions of an alternative bail bond concept.

The successful fight by the commercial bail bond industry in Colorado was unprecedented. Representative Waller has agreed to work with members of the bail bond community throughout the year in order to discuss issues regarding problems with the quick release of pre-trial inmates. This is a great opportunity to allow the bail bond industry to participate in creating better solutions.

Source: American Surety Company

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 the pretrial jail population was increasing at a high rate because of commercial bail bonds. A similar argument was made in a three piece report called “Bail Burden Keeps U.S. Jails Stuffed with Inmates,” by National Public Radio.

That information revealed that the number of individuals in jail decreased from the years of 2007-2009, but that the number of inmates in prison continues to grow.

Hough further stated, “Commercial bail is more widely used by local governments and judges because bondsmen are able to quickly free individuals from jail while holding them accountable to return to court to face justice. It is important to note that other factors like a declining crime rate also factored in to the lower jail population, put clearly the anti-private sector bail lobby will have to find something other than jail overcrowding to howl about.”

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.

Along with Delozal, another couple from the Morro Bay area was also arrested under suspicion by the California Department of Insurance for violating bail agent state laws. Both Christopher Langley and Larissa Langley also were arrested. Christopher was charged with a felony count for bail bond soliciting inside a jail as well as another charge for failure to keep records open for inspection. Larissa has been charged with a soliciting felony as well as the failure to keep records open.

All three suspected criminals were arrested and booked into the county jail at $10,000 bail.

San Luis Obispos bail bonds are regulated by the California Department of Insurance. Under California bail law, a client must contact the bondsman and a bondsman cannot “cold call” or offer bail services inside a jail or courthouse. Currently, the investigation is open and undergoing investigation.

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 exert a professional attitude, trustworthiness and ethical attributes, the opposite of what most media outlets portray.

AIA, the leading bail bonds underwriting company, located in Los Angeles and run by the Nairin family, developed the ExpertBail network.

ExpertBail’s major contribution is providing families and communities in California information on where and how to find the highest quality and most professional bail bond agents the state has to offer.

Greg Rynerson spoke on the behalf of his bail bonds company, “As a bondsman, we’ve always struggled with the stereotype of the neon sign and cigar filled room. For the professionals amongst bail companies, nothing could be further from reality. I applaud AIA and ExpertBail for helping to shine a light on the stand-out bondsmen in our industry. I’ve been proud to be affiliated with the Nairin family, AIA and now with ExpertBail.”

ExpertBail has set standards that each bail bond company must meet in order to obtain this recognition as bail experts, which includes their level of experience, trustworthiness and professionalism. For those who are in need of a quality bail bond company, they will be able to access this information at ExpertBail.com.

ExpertBail is the first national network for the bail bond industry. They help clients obtain the most professional and ethical bail bond companies. ExpertBail consists of the best and most experienced bail agents in the industry.

AIA or Allegany Casualty, International Fidelity and Associated Bond is the largest and oldest family run bail bond company. They have over 150 years experience and backs the ExpertBail network.

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 the California Department of Insurance are listed for the defendants at no cost.

The proposal further states the amount of which to charge bail bond companies. To have their company listed at four of the San Bernardino County jail facilities, they must also include a $50 dollar fee that will be required every month. However, if you want it listed at the five detention facilities, it would cost $10 a month.

It is said, this program will annually generate $97,000 for the departments.

Also, the plan proposes, that instead of listing the bail bond companies alphabetically, they would be entered into a “lottery” type listing contest, and in the order they are drawn out of the hat is the way they will be displayed to inmates on paper.

To oppose or accept this proposal, the meeting will take place Tuesday morning at 10a.m. at 385 Arrowhead Ave in San Bernardino.

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 if you don’t continue to spread the good word and be positive and do positive things, positive things will not happen. We need to go there and let people know bail is alive and well in other parts of the country; let them know there are other, better options than the sorry system that’s in place. The positive part is that Illinois Senator Mike Jacobs will be joining us, who is very much interested in hearing our story and what we have to offer.”

A few of the events scheduled for the meeting are as follows:

• Hot Topics Breakout Session: Bail agents will be able to discuss any topic relating to the bail industry in an open-mic session.
• For Women Only Luncheon: Linda Roche will direct this session for female bail professionals in which they can meet and get to know one another. Some of the past activities have included fortune tellers, breast cancer specialists, and scrap-bookers. At one time this meeting was formed for the women while their husbands attended classes or meetings. Now this is a must attend event for all female bond professionals.
• Lieutenant Michael Kline, Berrien County Sheriff’s Department: This event will have the real weapons that were used in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929. This particular massacre is one reason our country started an independent crime laboratory.

For some bondsmen attending this event, it also gives them a chance to gain continuing education credits through classes, while at the same time they will be given the opportunity to learn more ways to make their business better.  However, all the events held at the meeting won’t be just business and schooling; there will also be fishing, golfing, and an architectural tour cruise on the 21st of July.

Source: Collateral Magazine

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 the amount of bail they could write.  The talks include letting the Missouri Department of Insurance Financial Institutions and Professional Regulation oversee the qualifications for bail agents.

Rep. Chris Molendorp, R-Belton states that this bill would be a “step toward making the industry more professional.”

Some agree it would centralize the qualification process for agents. A Kansas City bail bondsman believes the accountability will ultimately protect public safety.

There would also be more regulation in deciding to write bonds for specific defendants, and that would be a good thing. Steve Fuller, an agent in St. Joseph gives a thumbs-up to centralizing the process of qualifications for agents which would allow them to operate throughout the state.  He added, “I don’t think one county should be better than any other.”

With all its push to move forward, there has been some back and forth decision making having to do with cuts in next years budget. Further, a long-time staffer, Brian Yates retired mid-term. This has led to a temporary vacancy in the role. State Sen. Rita Days, D-St Louis was left with this legislation ‘bill in hand’ until another one takes it up. It has not been brought up again for approval since the position change.

A House insurance agent stated this measure has been a bi-partisan effort. With House Democrats helping to push the bill along. Moving forward, those in the bail industry will surely be keeping their fingers on the pulse of this legislation, as it could mean a big change in the world of bail.

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: bail bondsmen.

The relatively new idea is to use financial collateral as an incentive for convicted criminals to behave. To do this, the bondmen would post something called Conditional Post-Conviction Release Bonds. Here’s how they work:

Dennis Bartlett, Executive Director of the American Bail Coalition and a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council has created the Conditional Post-Conviction Release (CPCR) Bond Act along with ALEC and other groups. Courts choose nonviolent offenders who meet strict criteria and then allow private bail companies to post this type of bond on their behalf. Taxpayers benefit because there is no cost to them and the criminals now have a financial incentive to appear in court. Violent offenders who are not eligible for this type of bond can then be incarcerated in the freed up prison spaces to serve their sentences in full.

As a condition of signing on for these CPCR Bonds, defendants must agree to let bail companies monitor them for drugs, check to see if they are employed, if they are in a recovery program and/or whatever other conditions apply.

Bartlett says that post-conviction bonds could even be used to keep people from entering the prison system at all. They would give judges a choice between issuing a sentence and offering an eligible defendant be bonded, instead. This is a win-win for the state, Bartlett believes, because the prisons get one less inmate, and the state can collect money from the bail bondsman if the person skips his court hearing or disappears.

Mississippi probation workers embraced Post-Conviction bonds after realizing they made their jobs easier by decreasing workloads. Mississippi became the first state to adopt the Conditional Post-Conviction Release Bond Act, three years ago. Michigan passed another version of it in 2009. According to Gene Newman, Secretary of the Professional Bail Agents of the United States, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, California and other states will soon be jumping on the bandwagon.

There isn’t much data on how well these bonds have worked out so far, but according to Bartlett, results look promising. About 1,000 inmates were released in Mississippi and over 97 percent of them kept their court dates. Mississippi jails are now saving around $35,000 per inmate for every year they aren’t incarcerated (minus medical costs and other expenses).

Some bail bondsmen are opposed to performance bonds such as Post-Conviction Bonds because they do not have the time, financial means or manpower to monitor defendants 24/7. And, while I doubt this bail bond company would undertake these bonds, it does sound like the benefits to California could be significant.

Bartlett is hopeful that with more publicity and positive data, Post-Conviction Bonds could be the miracle cure for prison overcrowding. Let us hope so, because if this situation goes unchanged, like the flood from our metaphorical burst dam, it will overwhelm us all.

Source: Post-Conviction Bonds a Promising Solution to Prison Overcrowding
Photocredit: © Liv Friis-larsen – Fotolia.com