Proposed law could increase bondsman revenue

LEE COUNTY: A program that could save you money and cut overcrowding in jails is in jeopardy. The program is called Pretrial Release. It allows non-violent offenders to stay out of jail while waiting for their court dates. And one group stands to gain greatly if the program goes away.

Each inmate processed, finger-printed, and fed at Lee County's Detention Center costs taxpayers $82 a day. That's nearly $5-million a month to care for about 2,000 inmates.

Court administrators say a program called Pretrial Release prevents that cost from increasing.

"It does have that great benefit to it. If you're finding people who are safe to be out of the jail, who meet the criteria set forth, it works out very well in terms of saving money," says Sheila Mann, spokeswoman with the 20th Judicial Circuit.

Mann says Pretrial Release allows non-violent offenders, who meet strict guidelines, an opportunity to wait for their court-date out of jail.

The fewer people waiting in jail means taxpayers pay less to keep the jail running.

Not everyone thinks the program is a good solution. State Senator John Thrasher believes the private industry can do what Pretrial Release does, at no cost to taxpayers.

He's pushing a proposed law that would strictly limit the number of people who qualify for Pretrial Release.

"I believe it's about saving taxpayers money. Some folks came to me about this issue and I believe it's the right thing to do," said Thrasher.

The folks who came to him were bail bondsmen.

According to the bill's own cost analysis, "bail bonds agents are likely to see an increase in revenues if the bill becomes law."

Basically, the fewer people who would qualify for Pretrial Release could mean more would have to pay a bondsman to get out jail.

Many taxpayers we spoke to just want to know why they should care.

If defendants can't afford to post a bond, they sit in jail longer and that costs taxpayers money.

Increased jail population is just part of the problem. Pretrial services say their biggest concern is safety.

"It's all about public safety. They can find things in someone's background or in interviewing them that sends up a red flag that they need to wait for a judge to see them, and the judge can assess the situation," said Mann.

Bondsman Wayne Spath agrees safety is the top priority He said, "For the most part, we get our people to court. Bottom-line, or we wouldn't be in business."

Spath owns Perkins Bail Bonds in Fort Myers.

"We make sure they go to court. Read the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Go read what it says," he said.

So, we did.

While the justice department study shows more pretrial defendants re-offend than those out on bond and fewer people show up to court, it's based on national figures.

That's not the case in Lee County. According to Lee County's Clerk's Office, nearly seven percent of offenders out on bond failed to appear at their first court hearing; compared to four percent under Pretrial Release.

Spath calls the program "a get out of jail free card" for defendants waiting for court-dates. The courts say that's an unfair claim from a private industry that stands to gain.

WZVN Channel 7

OC Bail Bonds Trade Group Sues Over Marketing

Glossy fliers the size of postcards with eye catching designs and eye popping colors greet everyone coming and going from the Orange County Central Men's jail.

They've been left by eager bail bondsmen trying to compete for the luccrative bail bonds business which is potentially coming in and out of the jail complex. This is the essence of guerilla marketing and it is esclating in Orange County. It extends into the parking structure adjacent to the jail, with vehicles wrapped in extra large colorful advertisements for each baondsman's respective bail bonds business.

Newport Beach attorney Richard P. Herman filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Orange County Bail Agents Association on to stop these guerrilla marketeers and their aggressive solicitation outside jails and police stations.

But some bail bond company owners contend it's legal absolutely legal and the bail bonds association is suing at the behest of other more established and powerful bail bonds companies. The association's lawsuit alleges that the agressive solictation creates an unfair playing field for other bail bondsmen.

Not coincidentally, the the newer bail bondsmen and the more established bail bondsmen are lined up on opposing sides of the issue. The newer businesses say they are doing what is their right to promote their business and attempt to grow it through innovative and creative methods. They complain that the more established bail bonds companies would rather not have to compete with the effective and aggressive methods, instead relying on their reputations and more traditional marketing practices.

The Orange County Bail Agents Association's lawsuit names Orange County and the city of Santa Ana as the defendantse. The lawsuit will be heard by U.S. District Judge Andrew Guilford. The lawsuit states bail companies are not allowed to send representatives into the public to solicit business. The matter will be decided in federal court soon enough.

Although this isn't the first time bail bond solicitation practices have been called into question, it is new territory for a bail bonds association to sue other local bail bondsmen over the matter. The issue of how a bail bondsman may market or solicit their services is a hotly contested one in many areas.

Bail bondsmen have made similar claims for agressive marketing of Las Vegas bail bonds, Miami bail bonds and San Diego bail bonds to name a few.