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.

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, loved ones and friends. It used to be a lot easier to put up the 10% or $2,000 for a $20,000 bail bond on a credit card when you had a larger limit to draw from.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department stated ”There definitely have been more cite releases in the last couple of years… We are under a court order to stay just below maximum capacity to help alleviate the overcrowding situation.” For those who are “cited out” or “cite released,” the court has entrusted the defendant with the duty of showing up on their own for court dates, in lieu of being held in jail or being bailed out. 

Unfortunately, this doesn’t nesessarily mean there are less of those out there on the streets committing crimes. There’s no guarantee the offenders will show up for court as promised. Then we’re back to where we started all over again: overcrowded jails,  more cite outs and more people being re-arrested.

By simply having a bail bondsman involved in the process, it can help to put an end to this vicious cycle. Bail companies provide the public a much needed service. Definitely something for the penal system to think about, before approving more cite out releases.