Early Fresno County Jail releases hurt bail bond businesses [The Fresno Bee, Calif.]
By John Ellis, The Fresno Bee, Calif. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
At Lucky Bail Bonds, owner
The reason is simple: If inmates are being released because of an overcrowded jail, they don't need to post bail. Without bail, there is little need for a bail bond agent.
And when a person is released early from jail without having to post bail, their chances of showing up for court hearings drop, those in the bail bond industry said.
Jail overcrowding -- and the resulting early inmate releases -- is not new in
On top of that, Gov.
"It's 100 times worse than it was 10 years ago," Pearlstein said. "At that time, we were releasing maybe a few hundred people a year. Now we're releasing upwards of 10,000 per year. That's in
Jail records show that an average of 40 to 60 inmates are being released early each day, a trend that started in 2010 as jail capacity shrunk.
Without bail, she and other bail bond agents said, there is less incentive for people to show up for a court date. She said they can -- and are -- thumbing their nose at the criminal justice system.
"There's no accountability," said
Typically, the bail process works like this:
A person arrested is booked and can post bail to be released from jail. That bail amount is either set by a judge or by a document showing pre-determined amounts for certain crimes.
For those unable to afford the bail, a bail bond company will charge the suspect 10% -- sometimes 8% -- of the bail amount, and in turn put up a surety bond for the entire amount, ensuring that the person makes all court appearances. The bail bond company also collects collateral from the suspect's family to further ensure the person will make the court dates.
If the suspect makes all court hearings and the matter is concluded, the bond is cleared and the bail bond company keeps the 10% as its fee. If the person jumps bail, the bail bond company has 180 days to find him or her -- or be on the hook for the entire bail amount.
Because of jail overcrowding, however, many of those arrested -- especially on low-level charges -- are released from jail before having to post bail.
There also are times when a suspect can't make bail and is sitting in jail awaiting the next court hearing -- only to be released because of overcrowding.
Pearlstein related a recent case in which a client was facing several heavy weapons charges -- and
The judge agreed, and the man was returned to jail. As Pearlstein was working to get more collateral from the man's family for the higher bail amount, he was released from the jail because of overcrowding.
As bad as it is now, local bail agents say it will only get worse -- not only in
"This is what the rest of the state will be like in a couple of years," predicted Ramirez Jr.
That means not only will the bottom line likely continue to suffer for local bail bond agents, company owners said, but public safety will continue to be compromised as well.
When a bail bond is involved, Pearlstein said, less than 1% of those facing criminal charges fail to appear in court. And a bail bond business on the hook for the bail amount likely will employ a bounty hunter to track down someone who jumps bail.
If the bail bond industry isn't involved, Robles-Dewitt said, it likely will fall to law enforcement -- and, ultimately, taxpayers -- to track down those failing to show up to court.
For now, the industry is becoming hyper-competitive as the bail bonds companies in
One option is cutting the fee -- 10% of the bond amount is common -- to 8%. And companies also may be more willing to take on riskier clients with high bail and a serious charge. Those are people who might be more tempted to jump bail and flee town.
Garcia -- who got his start at Albert Ramirez Bail Bonds in 1994 -- closed his
Pearlstein, of Lucky Bail Bonds, said he has been able to stay open because of business from surrounding counties and an office in the
"Otherwise," he said, "the wheels would come completely off."
Bail bond agents also are concerned about proposed bills coming in
Among them are Senate Bill 210, which would expand the pool of suspects eligible to be released without bail to include those accused of felonies that, upon conviction, would be served in county jails instead of state prisons. To make such a ruling, a judge must find that the suspect is not a threat to the public.
However, if the judge decided bail was required because the person was a threat, the bill would require the judge to list the reasons.
And if a judge finds that bail is needed, the bill also would give him leeway to set the amount lower than what is listed for the crime.
Bail agents say it would increase the number of defendants being released from jail without bail while their case works its way through the criminal justice system.
"We keep creating laws that make it easier to release people from custody and easier to empty out the jail because they are concerned with overcrowding," Pearlstein said. "What we are doing is defeating the whole purpose for having laws on the books."
The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (559) 441-6320.
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(c)2012 The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.)
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