Keep Bailing

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 »

Pretrial Services Vs. Commercial Bail

Is anyone surprised that bail wins?  Would you be surprised to know that twice as many defendants on unsecured release failed to make their court date?  That is correct: commercial bail (releasing a defendant on bond with a friend and bondsman following up) outperforms pretrial services (releasing a defendant on a promise to appear or their “own recognizance” without a responsibile individual to track the defendant) two to one in getting persons to court.

For 22 years, the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics has been indicating that bail wins, but recently the pretrial services advocates have been trying to make a case to change or eliminate the bail system as we know it. Bail bonds work because Read more »

Some arrestees in Virginia, who can afford to pay their own bail, have been taking advantage of a taxpayer-funded get-out-of-jail-free card that has many in the Va. General Assembly fuming. But opponents say that folks who want to end this law are merely a front for bail bondsmen who seek to line their own pockets by doing so.

It’s called “Pretrial Services” and it allows defendants to be released before their court hearing without bail. Commercial bail bondsmen want to limit this. Bondsmen point out that release on “Own Recognizance” is only supposed to be used by defendants who can’t afford their own bail, but that inmates with means seems are being offered the service – at a cost to the tax payers. Tax dollars should not be used to bail out those who have the means to pay nor should the state compete with private business.

But pretrial services supporters feel someone’s ability to pay a bail amount shouldn’t be Read more »

Pre-trial Release is what some states call their “Own Recognizance” (OR) release program. Defendants are released without bail, without monitoring of a bondsman, without support of a friend or family member willing to help fulfill a promise to appear in court.

Proponents site savings in jail costs, but it’s a huge problem for public safety. Release on “OR” has a significant place in the legal system, but that place is not to relieve overcrowding.

Here’s a look at some of the problems. It’s five minutes, long by Internet standards. But, it’s a good five minute education.

Perhaps you heard the National Public Radio (NPR) series on bail. To say the least, they painted a skewed picture of bail bonds, bail bondsmen and “pre-trial release,” known in California as Release on Own Recognizance (OR).

This morning, I read a blog post correcting some of NPRs “facts”. Here’s an excerpt quoting Dennis Bartlett, of the American Bail Coalition:

“The NPR story is fallacious in that it gives the impression of a great mass of unfortunates stuck in jail, like some medieval black hole in Calcutta. This is far from the case. The cohort of 500,000 non-convicted defendants is not static. Over a year almost the entire cohort turns over by people coming into the system on new arrests and people exiting on bail, going back to freedom after case closure or getting on the Department of Corrections bus to head for the penitentiary after conviction.

Some will not get out on bail. Why? Some further facts Read more »

Last week, AccreditedBail had a post called “Accountability and Transparency for Pretrial Release Programs“. They reviewed the dollars and cents cost to Orange County Florida’s government for what we know as “Release On Own Recognizance” or basically a defendant who is released with a promise to appear in court.

Surprising was the $1.7 million in taxpayer funds that it takes to screen, release and supervise defendants out on the county’s pretrial release program. You would want to balance that against bail bonds: cost to the tax payer Zero ($0.00).

Pretrial release has a purpose which is codified by law: to help the indigent who have no prior record and are accused of non-violent crimes. Again, balance that with our prior post on Van Nuys Jail “Bail vs. O.R.” Clearly, Read more »

As last year, California bail agents met at Lake Tahoe for the 2009 Annual Convention of the California Bail Agents (CBAA). Day one was Monday and included the usual State of the Association and PBUS National Updates.

Pretrial Release

Continuing Education Credit was offered to bondsmen who attended all required sessions, the first of which was an attorney presentation regarding Pre Trial Release presented by Ash Pirayou of Rutan & Tucker and a panel on Credit Card Bail. Pirayou reviewed current happenings in Pretrial Release (commonly known as Release on Own Recognizance or “OR“) in Santa Clara County. Pirayou said that Santa Clara County jailsare attempting to use pretrial release to relieve jail overcrowding and save money, but the bottom line numbers show a significantly different picture. He called on bail agents to help paint an accurate public picture.

Orange County Sheriff Candidate

Bondsmen were also addressed by Bill Hunt, candidate for Orange County Sheriff.  Hunt, who spent 22 years in the Orange County Read more »