Keep Bailing

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 »

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 »