Keep Bailing

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 »

The downturn in our economy  has impacted so many industries, it’s almost impossible to identify how the ‘trickle down’ has effected one in relation to another. The Victor Valley Daily Press reported yesterday on one Hisperia bail bondsman forced to close the doors last week.

In the world of bail bonds, unemployment as well as lost credit and housing devaluation has made it increasingly difficult for people to bail out their family members Read more »

Thanks to the economic downturn, over 500 job seekers applied for civilian work in the Orange County jail system, forcing the OC Sheriff’s Department to cut off applications just 36 hours after opening them last month.

Sheriff’s officials were hoping to get enough people to sign up for the next class of correctional services assistants, said spokesman John McDonald, but the rate that they got them: “Surprised a lot of us here.” The class, which only has 50 seats, educates civilian employees in how to assist sworn personnel at the jails.

The pay scale Read more »

Fourteen student demonstrators have been arrested at UCLA for protesting against rising tuition fees which would be set to increase $585 in the coming spring, followed by a rise next fall of $1,344.  That’s a 32% increase.

A  UC Regents board meeting was interrupted by approximately 500 students during a peaceful demonstration where banners were held high as students chanted, “cut from the top!”

The California Board of Regents went ahead by approving the two-step fee hike. This hike also effects Read more »

Bad economic news, apparently Bondsmen Are Bailing Out, at least according to the Indianapolis Star:

these days, too many clients are asking for bail without the required collateral, such as a home or a car, diminishing bail bondsmen’s customer base. And not helping matters is a new policy by Marion County judges setting less expensive cash bonds for minor offenses…

Couple the economic situation with other “solutions” being offered in terms of bail. I hear talk of temporily lowering the bail schedule to allow more people in California to post bail. Huh? The bail schedule is set Read more »

Lately, I’ve been asked many times, “Your business must thrive in this economy, right?” Or, “I bet bondsmen don’t worry about a bad economy; you must be thrilled.” We’ve even had people inquiring about a job because they think that bail bonds is a recession-proof industry.

I know most people have never had first hand experience with bail bonds. Apparently, the common school of thought is that crime goes up in an economic down-turn.

Last December, I took a call from Tony Castro at the Los Angeles Daily News. He asked several questions about the economy and bail bonds. Mr. Castro subsequently wrote an article about Van Nuys bail bondsmen “bailing out”. I spoke with Mr. Castro a fair amount of time and even though he quoted me on a couple of points, there were several issues I discussed that were left out. Since then, I keep feeling there’s so much more to be said. So, today I’ve written a follow-up article about bail, crime  and the economy. In this article, I’ve attempted to answer: Read more »

It used to be when you Googled “bail out” you’d find your local bondsman. Now, that search gives you the same Google Ads for bail bonds, but all of the search results refer to the economic situation.

Today’s Los Angeles Daily News, however, managed to combine the two with Tony Castro’s story: Bondsmen Are Starting to Bail Out. Don’t let the newspaper’s picture and the headline fool you. The only bailing out that Greg Rynerson Bail Bonds is doing is bailing people out of jail.

While it hadn’t occurred to me, I was recently asked if our business was recession proof. Read more »