Bail Bond Companies Claim Conflict With Pretrial Release

Cradling his office phone between his head and left shoulder, Raul "Katt" Brewster grabs his cell mid-ring and answers, "Bail bonds."

His fluorescent orange office walls hit like smelling salt. They keep him alert, Brewster says.

"Twenty thousand?" asks Brewster, the manager of the Wilmington office of Powell Bail Bonding. "Can you come up with a G? ... Can you come up with a thousand?"

In the few minutes between phone calls, Brewster talks about his trade and its "adversary:" pretrial release.

Sitting eight miles away in an office at the New Hanover County courthouse, Ray Murphy disagrees.

The pretrial release contractor says, "The public is going to win when pretrial and bonding cooperate."

Bail bonding companies and pretrial release programs get people out of jail as they wait for their court date. Both say they reduce prison populations.

But bail bonding companies say pretrial costs taxpayers money that should be spent elsewhere, while pretrial advocates say the program rehabilitates offenders and monitors them as they pay fines and child support.

For some bail companies, the feud has become political. Brewster said bail bond companies lobby state legislatures to limit pretrial release programs and represent their interests on other issues.

Locally, the Lower Cape Fear Bail Bonding Association represents bail agents, while the North Carolina Bail Agents Association is its statewide counterpart. Also, the N.C. Bail Agents Association Political Action Committee raises money and donates it to General Assembly campaigns and committees.

Since 2004, local bail bond agents have donated more than $11,000 to the PAC, which the committee distributed to Columbus County Democratic Sen. R.C. Soles Jr.'s campaign, the Republican House Majority Fund, the North Carolina Republican Senate Committee, the North Carolina House Democratic Committee and the Committee to Elect Republican Women, among other candidates and committees.

Bail bond companies and pretrial release advocates use many arguments about their cost and effectiveness, said John Roman, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center. And as local budgets shrink, the tension could rise, Roman said.

"I'm not sure they get along fine anywhere," Roman said. "To some extent, it's a zero-sum game."

Brewster said government pays for pretrial release programs, while bail bonding doesn't take public funds and supports the state's public schools.

Forfeited bonds go to local school budgets as required by state law. In the 2008 fiscal year, more than $450,000 was given to New Hanover County and more than $10 million to the state through forfeitures.

Brewster said the state loses potential money by releasing defendants without bond and spends money to monitor them while on pretrial release. Not all pretrial release participants are required to pay a bond.

In the 2009 fiscal year, pretrial release cost the county $528,636 for staff salary, benefits and operating expenses. The figure also includes a $360,000 contract awarded to Tarheel Monitoring to run the program's electronic monitoring.

But the program saved $7.8 million in jail costs that year, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Murphy said the pretrial program saves money by getting qualified defendants out of jail quickly, relieving facility costs for food, clothing, medicine and other expenses.

Alice Hovis, director of the program, said pretrial release employees interview inmates each morning before their first court appearance by video. If they find potential participants, they recommend them to a judge, who decides whether they qualify. If the judge allows the defendant into the program, he or she is released that day.

"It's not just us finding ways to get people out of jail," Murphy said. "The pretrial program runs leaner, slicker, faster than the bonding program."

Pretrial release advocates argue they rehabilitate defendants while bail bond companies focus on getting them to court.

Fifty-three defendants on pretrial release received substance abuse or mental health counseling during the 2009 fiscal year. Another 75 participants had a daily curfew, 15 were required to attend school, 219 were under house arrest with electronic monitoring and 63 couldn't drink alcohol or take illegal drugs.

"The main difference is the case management aspect," Murphy said. "Pretrial allows them to continue those positive things."

The program also focuses on defendants who were locked up because they haven't paid child support. Murphy said pretrial release lets them keep working instead of sitting in jail.

In fiscal year 2009, pretrial release participants paid more than $200,000 in owed child support.

Roman, of the Urban Institute, said bail bonding companies chase fugitives and bring them to court without taxpayer help.

"We relieve the tax load on the state," Brewster said, adding pretrial release increases the tax load. "The state has to house these inmates; they've got to clothe them."

Pretrial release also gets defendants to court, Hovis said, but they focus on rehabilitation and fine payments as well.

"If they have gotten treatment, they are less likely of getting more criminal charges," Hovis said.

Return rates for pretrial release and bail bonding differ by two percentage points as reported by Brewster and the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Roman said rehabilitation and job training provided by pretrial programs help control long-term jail costs and crime. Treatment providers and researchers know a lot about getting people onto a path that bypasses jail, he said, whether it's counseling, job training or other services.

"To not do that gets more and more indefensible as we get better and better at treating all the reasons people commit crime." Roman said. "In the short term, local government doesn't have to write a check. But in the long term, it perpetuates a cycle of crime and more crime."

Originally published at the Star News Online

Bail Bonds are Different From Bail!

Dog The Bounty Hunter is the extent to which most people come across bail and the bail bonds industry. So it is no secret why the average American can't tell the difference between a bail bond and bail. Often people use the terms "bail" and "bail bonds" interchangeably. However, they are far from interchangeable terms.

After arrest, a defendant may be eligible for bail. Bail is set during a bail hearing by a justice of the peace or judge. Bail is money paid to the court to secure a defendant's release. Once bail is posted, the defendant is freed from jail but is still obligated to appear at all scheduled court appointments. If they fail to do so, the bail money may be kept by the court. Once the criminal proceedings are finished and regardless of outcome, if the defendant has appeared before the court as ordered the bail money will be returned. The bail money merely acts an incentive and collateral to ensure the accused appear as ordered by the court.

In the event that a defendant is unable or unwilling to provide the full bail amount to the court, a bail bondsman may be used to post the bail on their behalf. However, bail bondsmen do not put forth the entire amount of bail. They post a bail bond to the court. Bail bonds are smaller amount of money that acts as a promise or surety bond. In the event the defendant does not appear, the bail bondsman may have to produce the full bail amount to the court.

Bail serves two purposes. It gives a defendant time to properly execute their defense preparation, free from the limitations of jail. Most importantly, it enables innocent people from being held in jail while they go through the trial process.

Bail is a very important aspect of the judicial system. Bail bondsmen play an integral role in the ensuring the system functions as it is designed to.

Selecting A Bail Bondsman - Important Things To Know

So your friend or family member has been arrested. Many things are racing through your mind about what to do next. First things first, you need to get them out of jail as soon as possible. Then and only then, can the process of putting their life back together can begin.

So who do you call? Post bail yourselves or hire a bail bondsman? Picking a bail bonds agnecy is a hugely important decision. The quality of bail bond companies in a local marketplace can vary greatly. Even though bail bonds companies can not adjust their fees, they still can offer very different levels of customer service. So it is imperative to understand all of your bail bond options and then hire the bail bondsman that best suits your needs.

A bail bondsman and the company they work for, must be fully licensed by the state in which they operate. For example, someone selling Las Vegas bail should be licensed as a bail bondsman by the state of Nevada.

Another important consideration is the amount of bail bonds industry experience a particular bail bondsman has. Through time in the trenches, a bail bondsman develops a keen understanding of the various local court systems, different detention facilities and all of the processes unique to each venue. An experienced bail bondsman can more easily navigate these systems to provide their client with a quick and expedient release.

Part of customer service in the bail bonds business is flexibility. Although bail bondsmen must charge the same fees, they can provide much different payment plans. For example, some bail bondsmen provide credit card payments, no collateral bonds and sometimes financing. It is a good sign when a bail bondsman takes the time to understand a client's financial position and then provides a solution that fits their needs.

Easy access to your bail bondsman is a critical element of a good bail bond professional. Clients often need to access their bail bondsman at all hours of the day or night. This is not only true while posting the bail bond, but also as the defendant navigates the post release judicial process. Prospective bail bondmen should be willing to provide easy access to all of their clients day or night.

There are a number of factors that differentiate good bail bonds companies from bad ones. It is important to understand how each bail bondsman is different and which one is going to be the best fit for your needs.