The thought of getting arrested is just crazy to some people. However, it is crazier to think that so few people have an understanding of the judicial process until they find themselves immersed in it. Consequently, most people only have a vague notion about the bail bonds system. Therefore, there are a lot of misconceptions about the bail bonds and bail bondsmen.
The first bail bond myth is that bail and bail bonds are the same thing. Bail is the amount of money a court requires to release a defendant after being arrested. A bail bond is a surety bond provided to a court by a bail bondsman to secure the release of a defendant. If the accused fails to appear, the bail bond is a promise that the bondsman will pay the full bail amount.
Another very common myth about the bail bonds industry relates to something that is commonly advertised. Bail bondsmen promote their businesses heavily in online, print, television and just about anywhere else you can imagine to attract customers. If you have seen their advertising you would think it was a price sensitive industry. Tag lines and slogans claim things like "Cheapest rates" or "budget pricing". However, state laws set the fees bail bondsmen can charge, so pricing is actually the same across the board no matter who is hired to provide the service.
Fueled by television images and realty shows, many Americans mistakenly believe bounty hunters and bail bondsman are one in the same. A bail bondsman, for a fee, helps defendants gain their release after being arrested for a crime. If that defendant fails to appear in court, the bail bondsman could be forced to forfeit the entire bail amount. They will commonly in turn hire a bounty hunter to retrieve the missing defendant and return them to custody.
Since only a small percentage of our society is ever arrested, hopefully the misconceptions associated with bail bonds hopefully won't affect many people. Although, if you are one of the unfortunate few that are arrested, having the correct information about bail bonds will be invaluable.
