Pretrial Release Programs

Some facts for you to consider about taxpayer-funded pretrial release programs throughout the nation:

• 48 percent of programs have never verified their risk assessment instrument
• Only 68 percent of programs calculate the failure to appear rate
• Only 37 percent of programs calculate the re-arrest rate

Why? Because the taxpayers are paying for such programs, which are run by county governments, many with huge bureaucratic programs. The economic costs to the taxpayers for failure to appear and re-arrests of defendants are absorbanant.

Let the private surety industry do its job for you using their own financial resources. We will make sure defendants appear at all court proceedings and adhere to conditions of the bond. If they skip, the bail agent is financially responsible and not YOU!

Upcoming Budget Hearings

Orange County is holding two public hearings on the 09/10 proposed budget and the pretrial release program is slated at $1.7 MILLION of your tax dollars! If you had $1.7 million dollars of tax money to spend, would you spend it to release criminals from jail or on other important priorities??

The public hearings are scheduled for September 10 and 24 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the County Commission Chambers (201 S. Rosalind Avenue).

Let your voice be heard!

Releases from the Orange County, Fl. Jail

We've mentioned that defendants are being released from the Orange County Jail using your tax dollars that are charged with serious offenses such as possession of drugs, controlled substances, possession/carrying concealed weapons, battery, DUI, lewd/lascivious behavior, burglary, theft, forgery neglect of a child and numerous driving offenses, many of them habitual offenses. These defendants never see a Judge!

Well defendants with identification holds or undisclosed holds are also being approved for release under the Pretrial Release program. Pretrial Services staff cannot begin to investigate a defendant's criminal history, social/economic ties, residency etc. if they don't even know who they are dealing with! Also people who are homeless have been released using your tax dollars.

The private surety bail industry is willing and more effectively successful at supervising such defendants using no tax dollars from you! Why is your county government competing with private enterprise?

Citizens' Right-to-Know Act

The Citizens' Right-to-Know Act in Florida was by signed the Governor in June 2008 and became effective July 1, 2008. This act requires more transparency for the public to learn about the types of defendants being released on their tax dollars from county Jails. Any member of the public can obtain registry information through the Clerk of Court's Office; you will be charged a $1 per page if you want a copy of the register or you can buy a portable scanner and scan the registry right from your laptop!

Educate yourself and learn about how your limited tax dollars are being spent to release defendants charged with serious offenses and who often have lengthy criminal and driving offense histories. If the Jail in your county in Florida says they are not producing a weekly register, tell them it is the law and they must do so!

Proponents of Private Surety Bail

From the BJS Special Report: Pretrial Release of Felony Defendants in State Courts

Private Surety Bail . . .

• Reduces jail population by providing a means for defendants to obtain release
• Provides pretrial release and monitoring services at no cost to the taxpayer
• Creats an incentive that results in the majority of defendants being returned to court because the bail agent is liable for defendants who fail to appear
• Provides the opportunity for many defendants to secure their freedom while awaiting disposition of their case

Pretrial Release of Felony Defendants in State Courts

Thomas H. Cohen, Ph.D. and Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D. - Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice

Between 1990 and 2004, 62 percent of felony defendants in State courts in the 75 largest counties were released prior to the disposition of their case. Beginning in 1998, financial pretrial releases, requiring the posting of bail, were more prevalent than non-financial releases. Surety bond surpassed release on recognizance in 1998 as the most common type of pretrial release. Two-thirds of defendants had financial conditions required for release in 2004 compared to half in 1990.

Compared to release on recognizance, defendants on financial release were more likely to make all scheduled court appearances. Defendants released on an unsecured bond or as part of an emergency release were most likely to have a bench warrant issued because they failed to appear for court. Defendants arested for violent offenses or who had a criminal record were most likely to have a high bail amount or be denied bail.

Public vs. Private Law Enforcement: Evidence from Bail Jumping

By Eric Helland and Alexander Tabarrok

After being arrested and booked, most felony defendants are released to await trial. On the day of the trial, a substantial percentatge fail to appear. If the failure to appear is not quickly explained, warrants are issued and two quite different systems of pursuit and rearrest are put into action. Public police have the primary responsibility for pursuing and rearresting defendants who were released on their own recongnizance or on cash or government bail. Defendants who made bail by borrowing from a bail agent however, must worry about an entirely differenct pursuer. When a defendant who has borrowd money skips trial, the bail agent forfeits the bond unless the fugitive is soon returned.

As a result, bail agents have an incentive to monitor their charges and ensure that they do not skip. When a defendant does skip, bail agents must pursue and return the defendant to custody. Thirty percent of felony defendants who fail to appear and remain at large after one year become fugitives. The fugitive rate for failure to appear is higher for cash bond or release on own recognizance. The fugitive rate is lower for those defendants released on a surety bond than for any other type of release. The probability of being a fugitive is 64 percent lower on a surety bond compared to a cash bond.

Defendants Released through the Pretrial Release Program

Defendants were released "administratively" on the following charges through the Orange County, Fl jail without ever seeing a Judge - all at the taxpayers' expense:

Week of June 21 to June 27, 2009

• 11 defendants for possession of cannabis
• 1 defendant for possession of cannabis with intent to sell/deliver
• 2 defendants for possession of cocaine
• 1 defendant for possession of hydrocodone
• 8 defendants for driving with no valid driver's license
• 3 defendants for driving with license suspended/revoked
• 2 defendants for driving under the influence w/minor in vehicle .20 >
• 16 defendants for driving under the influence
• 1 defendant for disorderly intoxication causing pubic disturbance
• 3 defendants for petit theft
• 3 defendants for resisting arrest by law enforcement
• 2 defendants for criminal mischief/trespassing
• 2 defendants for battery
• 1 defendant for possession of burglary tools
• 1 defendant for grand theft 3rd degree
• 2 defendants for carrying concealed weapon/firearm

Week of June 14 to June 20, 2009

• 7 defendants for possession of cannabis
• 2 defendants for possession of cannabis with intent to sell/deliver
• 2 defendants for possession of cocaine
• 2 defendants for possession of a controlled substance
• 4 defendants for driving with no valid driver's license
• 4 defendants for driving with license suspended/revoked
• 1 defendant for driving with license suspended/revoked as habitual offender
• 2 defendants for reckless driving
• 1 defendant for driving with expired license > four months
• 2 defendants for driving under the influence with property damage/personal injury
• 5 defendants for driving under the influence w/minor in vehicle .20 >
• 16 defendants for driving under the influence
• 1 defendant for neglect of a child
• 4 defendants for petit theft/larceny
• 3 defendants for shoplifting
• 2 defendants for criminal mischief/disorderly conduct
• 1 defendant for grand theft 3rd degree

Week of May 24 to May 30, 2009

• 8 defendants for possession of cannabis
• 2 defendants for possession of cannabis with intent to sell/deliver
• 1 defendant for possession of cocaine
• 5 defendants for driving with no valid driver's license
• 1 defendant for driving with license suspended/revoked as a habitual offender
• 1 defendant for driving under the influence with property damage/personal injury
• 1 defendant for driving under the influence w/minor in vehicle .20 >
• 1 defendant for boating under the influence
• 15 defendants for driving under the influence
• 1 defendant for open container
• 4 defendants for petit theft/larceny
• 2 defendants for urinating/defecating in public
• 2 defendants for disorderly conduct
• 3 defendants for battery (two defendants had three counts each)
• 2 defendants for carrying a concealed firearm
• 1 defendant for possession of a firearm/weapon by convicted felon
• 2 defendants for trespassing
• 3 defendants for resisting law enforcement
• 6 defendants for grand theft 3rd degree
• 4 defendants for forgery/fraud
• 1 defendant for obtaining property by worthless check
• 1 defendant for possession of counterfeit payment instrument
• 1 defendant for dealing in stolen property

If you think these defendants held any accountability for their crimes by being released free of charge with no monetary sanctions and little supervision think again! Many of these defendants had criminal histories and driving offenses and were able to post bond in the past. If any one of them fails to appear, more of your tax dollars will be used to try and find them. These type of releases happen every week!

Do you feel any safer now?

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