Bail Bonds Agencies: Good or Evil?

Since so many of us are used to seeing dangerous characters on shows like Law & Order post bail and walk the streets free, much to the chagrin of the hardened TV detectives who are almost never wrong, there is a general misunderstanding of bail as the tool of rich criminals used to laugh in the face of justice. This means that men and women who work as commercial bond agents are often surrounded by an air of shadiness that they are hardly deserving of. They work with the family of accused criminals, and while a percentage of those they help will turn out to be actual criminals, it is important to remember that every person is innocent until proven guilty, and to take a closer look at the purpose of bail bonds.

When a person is arrested and arraigned, quite a lot of time can pass before they will go to trial for their charges. They will remain in jail until they or their family are able to post their bond, if one has been allowed them. Through the aid of bondsmen, even those without the financial means to put up the full amount can post their bond and be free to get back to their lives while they await trial.

When he signed a bail reform act into law in 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke eloquently about what can happen when citizens are detained in jail unnecessarily due to the inability to pay their bond. He told several stories of the system gone wrong. One story told of a man who was unable to raise the $300 required for his release and so he spent 54 days in jail awaiting a trial for a traffic offence for which the maximum penalty was no more than five days. Another heart wrenching story he told was of a man who spent two full months in jail before being found innocent. During that time he lost his job, his car, and his family subsequently broke apart.

Since that time, there has been much reform to the system. Judges are now to use their own discretion when setting the amount necessary for an accused person’s release. They are to consider the severity of the crime, the person’s past (to determine if they are a flight risk), as well as whether or not the person will be a danger to others when released into the general population. Most people will not pose a threat upon release, and are not flight risks. Holding them in jail is an unnecessary expense to the state and can cause great harm in the life and family of the accused.

This is where bondsmen come in. Since most people will not have access to the full amount of bail bonds, a bond agency can be engaged for a fee, usually 10% of the full cost of release, to front the money and arrange for the person’s release. So, far from helping criminals thumb their noses at the justice system, bond agents are helping to serve justice and minimize the negative effects of awaiting trial on families.