For the past 15 years I have worked in Alachua County as a bail agent, and I have posted thousands of bail bonds for defendants. Using Court Services' own formula, that translates to tens of millions of dollars in savings of incarceration costs for the taxpayer.
I have never received any taxpayer money from Alachua County. However, I have paid county bond forfeitures, totaling $29,000, for four defendants I could never locate.
That's right, four of my bond clients in 15 years could not be found! I would challenge any pretrial release program to match that record.
The bottom line is this: bail bonding works. The reason is accountability — we get people to show up (or we pay big money), and unlike pretrial release programs, we will locate, arrest and return bond skips to jail, and we do this far better than any tax-based program around.
The courts, sheriff, state attorney and county commissioners can make all the arguments in the world for these public option programs, but the bottom line is, we taxpayers pay dearly for them!
It amazes me that as county and state budgets are strained to the point of busting, we sit here fighting over legislation that pits government's expenditures in the millions vs. private tax-free alternative-bail, which has worked very well in this country since its inception.
Pretrial programs are being advertised as a cheap solution to expensive incarceration, and the claim that only low-risk offenders are put in them is simply not the truth.
Pretrial release takes taxpayer money and uses it to fund the release of criminals back on the streets with absolutely no guarantee that they will ever come back to court.
These pretrial programs are funded by the same general fund that directly competes for money that could be used for police, fire, teachers, etc.
Pretrial programs have become a way for the court to rationalize releasing huge numbers of people from custody.
Pretrial has this nice PR platform saying that they can supervise individuals for a quarter the cost, but in truth, we taxpayer are spending millions for them to “supervise” just a few thousand people, and of those, a huge percentage will fail to return for court, or will violate some pretrial program regulation and be returned to jail.
Alachua county has thousands of warrants on people wanted for not coming to court (14,000 active warrants at last count, and climbing every day). The vast majority of theses individuals were released on their own recognizance by judges, or were recoged into one of these “supervised” programs.
It was no surprise to me that the only county in this part of Florida to see an increase in crime was Alachua County. What is surprising is that neither the sheriff nor the state attorney, nor do many of our county's judges, seem to have any problem with our judicial system's “catch and release” philosophy.
Sean R. Thomas lives in Gainesville.
This pretrial release progam in my area is not only harming Las Vegas area bail bondsmen, but is costing Clark County and Nevada as a state millions of dollars of revenue. All the court filing fees that are not paid for bail could be used for our freeways, police, and schools. It's ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteIt's really cool that you've only had four people you couldn't find after they skipped their court date. I find bail bonds to be an interesting concept. It's also really cool that people take the accountability seriously and follow through on it. In a way, that shows that they aren't all bad!
ReplyDeleteClaudia Rosenburg | http://www.denvercitybailbonds.com
I can really agree that catch and release can be quite the problem, and I hope that they put an end to it soon. But I do agree with Claudia that bail bonds are a really interesting concept. My brother got arrested for a DUI a couple of weeks ago, and I had to use bail bonds in order to get him out. I don't know how I would have afforded bail if it wasn't for them. http://www.halfdownbailbonding.com/index.html
ReplyDeleteI find your points intriguing. Especially since they have the validity of your own experience. I wonder if the same program you have implemented can be used in other states, or if it already is being used in other states. It seems to be a good idea to at least try out. http://www.ohiobailbonds.com/cincinnati.html
ReplyDeleteThat's quite the record. If all bond agents were like you, we might be able to change our policies. Good bail bond companies are the reason this legislation works the way it should. If they decrease in quality at all, we'll have to start something new.
ReplyDeleteJenn | http://www.regionalbonding.com/aboutUs/
I had a friend who was put into jail. He had to go through a lot to get out. I could not believe that he came out so positive. I hope he learned a little bit when I was in there. http://www.tonymadridbailbonds.com/
ReplyDeleteI knew that you would be responsible for them showing up, but I didn't realize that you could actually go and get them for their trial. I think that is a great system to be using. You said that you only had four defendants you couldn't find, what is the national average of defendants that get away?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.abailnowbailbonds.com/Bail-Info
Wow, you've really seen it all as a bail bond agent! I don't know exactly how bail bonds work it seems. You can pay the bondsman, but if he doesn't show up to court the bondsman has to pay the amount to the court? I mean, it seems pretty risky sometimes if you bail out the wrong guy. Help me understand this better!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.abailnowbailbonds.com/Bail-Info
I think you have done a great job helping us understand the process of bail bonds. It is the bail bondsman's responsibility to ensure that the accused shows up in court and other required meetings while on bail. For that service they keep 10 percent of the appointed bai l. http://allstarbailbondslv.com/northlasvegas.html
ReplyDeleteI think it's amazing that you've only had four people get away in that long. That really is amazing. I think it's important for this system to survive. I can't imagine how much it would suck to have to sit in a jail when it's possible to go home and continue with your life until trial. It doesn't make any sense to take that away from people.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bobsshropshiresons.com/
It's really good to know about these issues as a consumer. I didn't know that it was a widespread problem like you mentioned. You did well at explaining what happens and how consumers can help eliminate "catch and release." http://www.nickel-bail-bonds.com
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteVery useful post. This is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. Really its great article. Keep it up.
ReplyDeletesan antonio bail bonds
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi guys,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this wonderful article really!
If someone want to know more about Bail Bonds I think this is the right place for you!
Awesome work! That is quite appreciated. I hope you’ll get more success.
ReplyDeletehttp://bailbondsbros.com
DeaR Admin.
ReplyDeleteWe are so glad for using your blog.
It is very intresting site.
bail bondsman potsdam ny
Bail Bonds can be issued only by qualified "bail agents", expert in their countersigning and issuance. This is what you called help.
ReplyDeleteBail Bondsman do a much better job of getting the defendants back to court to answer to the charges.
ReplyDeleteBail Bondsman do a much better job of getting the defendants back to court to answer to the charges.
ReplyDeleteIt’s important to know that the Bail Bondsman is familiar with the bond you need like you mentioned. If they handle the type of bond you need, you can be sure you’re getting the service you need. Asking the bail bond company how much experience they have with your specific bond would also be helpful.
ReplyDelete