Facts About Bail Agents

A bail agent is the only part of the criminal justice system that is involved from the point of arrest until the case is disposed of regardless of the length of time the process takes. The bail agent not only gets a defendant out of jail, but must keep up with each and every court date and notify the defendant of those dates in a timely manner to ensure they appear for court. Thus, a bail agent must know the whereabouts of a defendant at all times.

If a court date is missed, the bail agent is responsible for locating the defendant and returning them back to the jurisdiction of the court. If the missed court date was an honest mistake by the defendant, the bail agent will often advocate for them with the court and attempt to get a new court date scheduled. Bail agents can cross state lines to locate and apprehend defendants who fail to appear.

All of this done with the bail agent's own financial resources and not that of the taxpayers'.

Common Bail Terms

Collateral: something of value either pledged as security or turned over to a bail agent to hold until the bond is exonerated. Collateral could be a lien on a piece of real estate, jewelry, cash or anything of value.

Co-signer or Indemnitor: a person or people who sign a binding bail bond contract with a bail agent stating they will pay any expenses a bail agent incurs returning a defendant to court if they fail to appear. The co-signer or indemnitor is also responsible for paying the bond premium.

Bond Forfeiture: when the court orders the bail forfeited because the defendant failed to appear for court, requiring the bail agent to pay the full amount of the bond to the court. The bail agent then has a certain amount of time to return the defendant to court, or prove that they are deceased or in jail in another jurisdiction, in order to recover any amount of the bond already paid.

If someone is arrested for a criminal offense, using a bail bond agent can do more than just secure their release. Bail agents offer the defendant the benefit of saving money by posting a percentage of the total bail amount and allowing them to return to the job and family, while still monitoring and supervising the defendant to ensure their appearance in court.

Bail agents can arrange bail in many jurisdictions and often work closely with law enforcement and the courts when issues arise with a defendant. Bail agents are familiar with the criminal justice system and work hard to educate defendants and their families on the process until resolution of the case.

The tenates of bail are mentioned in both the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution as an integral part of the criminal justice system. Without the private bail industry, jails would become even more overcrowded, jail costs would rise and many lives would be disrupted.

There are many benefits to using the private bail industry as a mechanism to be released from jail:

• Bail is affordable for most defendants and has convenient payment options
• The bail process is quick usually taking only approximately 30 minutes
• The service is confidential and convenient; bail agents are available 24/7
• Bail agents have greater control and supervision of defendants than other release options
• Bail agents can enforce many conditions of release as part of the bond contract
• Bail agents take collateral and/or use co-signers on a bail bond as an added layer of accountability
• Bail agents return defendants back to jail using their own resources and at their own expense, saving valuable time in law enforcement costs
• Bail agents help educate defendants on the criminal justice system and their responsibilities

A homicide suspect was apprehended in Sanford, Florida yesterday after running a red light. Guess what his previous criminal charges were? Battery on law enforcement officer, burglary and vehicle theft. These are exactly the same type of charges people are being released on through the Orange County, Florida jail's pretrial release program every day! So called "minor" offenses seldom remain minor but usually escalate to more serious crimes, particularly when the individual is not held accountable for the crime.

If an individual is arrested for committing a criminal offense, and they are asked if they want to, "get out of jail for free or pay a bondsman to get out," what do you think their answer would be? Do you think they would learn anything about accountability with this message? Would you feel safe knowing such an individual is able to walk out of jail for free back to your neighborhood?

What is your answer?

During the past four days, eight people have died in a killing spree across Central Florida, including a homeless individual stabbed 15 times by a 19 year old man. Such crimes keep law enforcement very busy, as well as putting them in harms every time they go out on such calls.

However, almost as quickly as individuals are arrested in Orange County, Florida for all manner of drug offenses, carrying concealed weapons, burglary, theft, fraud, forgery, prostitution, lewd/lascivious behavior, battery, grand theft 3rd degree, DUI, etc., they are released back onto the streets using our tax dollars. This practice is a slap in the face to all dedicated law enforcement officers who risk their lives every day to put criminals in jail as well as all of us as taxpayers that there is no accountability for the actions of these criminals. Many of these defendants have a "revolving door" relationship within the criminal justice system.

This practice has to stop! The private surety bail system has a proven and historic history of effectively and efficiently supervising defendants using their own financial resources. If you care about this lack of accountability and want to help, let us know!

The crimes defendants are being administratively released on without ever seeing a Judge are alarming!

• Driving under the influence, many with minors in the vehicle at the time as well as property damage and personal injury
• Driving with no valid driver's license or expired license
  
• Driving with license revoked/suspended with knowledge and habitual offenders with license permanently revoked
• Possession of cocaine, heroin, controlled substances, many with "armed" possession with intent to deliver or distribute
• Carrying concealed weapon or firearm
• Battery
• Grand theft 3rd degree
• Burglary
• Theft
• Fraud
• Forgery
• Child neglect
• Prostitution and related offenses
• Trafficking in stolen property
• Throw deadly missile at/into occupied vehicle
• Possession of short-barreled gun, rifle, machine gun
• Exposing sexual organs
• Lewd/lascivious behavior
• Exploitation of the elderly
• Resisting law enforcement with violence

The list goes on and on! All of these releases were made with your tax dollars and continue to be spent by "supervising" these individuals in the community.

We should all demand more accountability from our elected officials in spending our limited tax dollars and we should not be competing with private enterprise when they can do a much more efficient and effective job.