Keep Bailing

Day 2 of the California Bail Agents Association (CBAA) Annual Convention featured bail bondsman education. In addition to an extensive review of local bail issues throughout the state, on Tuesday California bondsmen heard from a Professional Bail Recovery Panel. The informative panel of four professional fugitive recovery persons (known to most as “bounty hunters“) provided an in-depth review of California Penal Code Section 1299, the panel shared industry trends, pitfalls and ways that bondsmen can help make the recovery person’s job easier.

The day concluded with luncheon speaker Jose Solario, Assemblyman from the 69th District (Santa Ana) and Chair of the Public Safety Commission. Chairing such a committee, Assemblyman Solario has considerable insight into the jail system and the purpose of bail. He told bondsmen, “What you do saves tax payers money and keeps the public safe.” Read more »

Just when you think you’ve heard it all, another nut comes out of the woodwork… Whatever your profession, if you’re visiting a blog, you probably have various feeds and alerts that you check out daily on your industry. You have to keep up with what’s going on and, of course, you hope you’re not the last to hear the latest about your competition.

Now, all industries have their share of distressing news, and some certainly are more serious than others. But, when you’re a bail bondsman, the morning news alerts can be particularly interesting. Take this morning, Read more »

If it’s not the first question people ask, it’s the second; “You’re a bail bondsman - like Dog the Bounty Hunter?” No, actually, my job is nothing like what Beth and Duane Chapman (aka “The Dog”) do on television. A day in the life for me entails talking with mostly nice people who know someone who has made a mistake or who the authorities think has broken the law.

Quite honestly, I had never seen the Dog the Bounty Hunter show start to finish. I’d probably caught 5 or 10 minutes here or there while surfing. Still, when I cruised by A&E the other night, the show was just starting; I thought I’d give it a shot and watch the whole episode.

Dog was in Colorado (possibly why I decided to watch; I have a long-standing love affair with the Rocky Mountain State, dating back to John Denver, but I digress…). As I watched, I was a lot more interested in the “how” of The Dog’s operation than the two fugitives they were chasing down. Read more »

I just received a letter from Linda Braswell, PBUS President, regarding bounty hunter Leonard Padilla and the Casey Anthony bail. Ms. Braswell was commenting on the sad “carnival” atmosphere around the case and specifically Mr. Padilla’s comments regarding bail bondsmen. 

Ms. Braswell’s letter brought to mind a topic that is perhaps a hot button for me: ethics in the bail industry. The bail bond profession, perhaps more than most other professions, presents us with daily ethical and professional challenges. Doing the right thing is not always easy. At the end of the day, you have to be able to look in the mirror and like what you see. 

For example, I know most bail agents have been involved in bail transactions involving extremely large amounts of cash. The cash is sitting on the table in front of them: $5,000, maybe even $10,000 in cash.  They can smell the cash. They have mentally already begun spending the money. They are thinking about which pocket would be best suited for this big wad of cash. There is a huge adrenaline rush involved. All of a sudden, the indemnitor throws an ethical twist into the transaction that makes the entire deal illegal. What would you do? Read more »