What a Bondsman Does

If you have ever found yourself sitting in front of a judge in criminal court, you might have some idea of why a bondsman is needed.  When a person is charged with a crime, the court can keep the defendant in jail until the trial date.  Luckily however, the justice system treats defendants as innocent until proven guilty.  This is why, in cases where the defendant is not an overt flight risk or does not present a major threat, the court will set bail.  And bail is essentially why the bondsman has a job.

What’s a Bondsman?

If a defendant wants to enjoy his or her days waiting for the trial outside of a jail cell, they can do so by depositing an amount of money with the court – this is called posting bail.  After the trial, the court will refund the money.  If the defendant fails to show up to court on the trial date, they forfeit all of the bail money (and will get arrested again). When a defendant doesn’t have enough cash to cover bail, they will contact a bondsman.  The bondsman will take care of bail paperwork and guaranteeing bond payment to the court.  In return for covering bail for a defendant, a bondsman earns a 10% premium from the defendant or his or her family (usually required up front), and often a lien on personal belongings or property in order to cover the risk if the defendant doesn’t show up to court. Basically – a bondsman makes it possible for people who can’t afford to post bail to still wait for their trial date outside of the jail cell. This allows defendant to go on living life as normal and supporting their family.

The Complicated Bail Process

The bail process isn’t exactly the simplest part of the justice system.  If you think it’s just a matter of offering the court your credit card and walking away – think again.  There are five options usually available to a criminal defendant in order to post the bail that the court has imposed.  Those options include cash bail, surety bond, property bond, released on own recognizance, or Citation

• Cash Bail – The defendant deposits cash with the court.  When the defendant shows up for court, the cash is returned.  If the defendant fails to show up, the court keeps the entire amount.
• Surety Bond – Otherwise known as “bail bond”, this is when a defendant contacts a bondman who posts the bail bond to the court on behalf of the defendant.  In return for accepting this risk, the defendant pays the bondsman a premium of typically 10% of the bail amount.
• Property Bond – In many jurisdictions, defendants can issue the court a lien on property owned by the defendant in order to secure the bail amount.  If the defendant fails to show up for court, the court will foreclose on the property.  The defendant can only post Property Bond if there’s enough equity on the property to cover the bail amount.
• Own Recognizance – This is when someone, usually a deputy or jail staff, will interview the defendant and recommend to the court that the defendant should be released on their own recognizance.  This is typically done for first-time offenders who pose no risk.
• Citation Release – When a defendant is immediately arrested, for lesser offenses the officer may issue a citation that informs the defendant to appear in court on a specific date.  In this case no bail is required.

If you’re having trouble following along with how the bail process works, you’re not alone.  This is precisely why the Bondsman career was born.

Why a Bondsman is Needed

No one wants to require the services of a bondsman.  However, there may come a time when you find yourself on the receiving end of handcuffs.  In such a situation, and if you are faced with a steep bail approaching tens of thousands of dollars – you will be thankful that the bondsman is there. 

There are several reasons why bondsman are critical to the justice system.

• Defendants who don’t have enough cash to pay bail will not have to sit in jail waiting for trial.
• A bondsman understands the bail process and will handle everything for you.
• You just pay the bondsman his fee and show up for trial.

Hiring a bondsman can mean that instead of  being stuck in jail for possibly weeks or having to cough up twenty thousand dollars in cash or property, you can instead go home and go about your daily business of working and taking care of your family.  When you hire a bondsman, you are paying a fee so that you don’t have to think about the bail process or about jail.  The bondsman is accepting a risk – he or she is promising to pay the court the entire bail amount if you don’t show up for court. 

Your only obligation is to make it to your trial date.  If you fail to do that, all bets are off.

When Things Go Wrong - Bounty Hunting

There is a glorified aspect to the career of the bondsman, and that is when things turn south.  If a particular criminal decides that he or she doesn’t want to face trial – they may skip bail and try to get out of town. 

At this point the bondsman is in a tough spot.  The bondsman accepted the risk and guaranteed to the court that if the accused does not show up, he would pay the bond.  Bondsmen are typically backed by insurance companies which trust the bondsman to be a fairly good judge of character and to write good bonds.  When a defendant skips out on his bond – it can mean huge financial losses for the bondsman, and it places his future career and his business in jeopardy.

Initially the bondsman will count on the police locating and arresting the fugitive.  However, as the date when the bond comes due approaches, the bondsman will then turn to a bounty hunter.

If the “skip” is not brought in to court, the bondsman stands to lose a great deal, financially.  Therefore he or she may pay a bounty hunter a significant fee, depending on the size of the bond, in order to apprehend the defendant.

While bounty hunters are glorified in the media, real-life bounty hunters are actually sophisticated tracking professionals who have the technical expertise, access, and tools to track down any person in the United States through the use of social engineering, technological tracing of financial and other transactions, as well as close collaboration with law enforcement.  Re-arresting the defendant is only a very small part of the job.  The most significant, and most difficult, part is becoming an established and successful “tracer”. 

Successful bounty hunters are in high demand among bondsman, and they can mean saving huge financial losses and protecting the career of the bondsman. 

Additional Resources

Unfortunately the world of bondsmen isn’t the most ethical place in the world.  However the majority of bondsmen do a great job assisting folks who are in a very difficult situation get through it without having to spend unnecessary time in jail while waiting for their court date.  A good bondsman saves the defendant the headache of trying to figure out the bail process and will do the paperwork for the client.  Bondsmen fill an important niche in the justice system that serves both the court system and the defendant.  If trust is present on both sides, the process works very well.

To find a good bondsman:

1. Make sure to check the state licensing board for those bondsmen who are licensed to practice in your state.
2. Avoid 0% down bondsmen.  Requiring no payment and assuming 100 percent of the risk means that their tactics are likely somewhat shady and you could find yourself signing over your house in order to avoid his henchmen.
3. Pay no more than about 10% of the bail as a fee to the bondsman.  Excessive rates are unnecessary since the market for good licensed bondsmen is typically around 10%. 
4. If it “feels” wrong, walk away.  Unfortunately this career path can attract unsavory characters.  If you get a bad vibe from talking with the bondsman, simply leave and find another.

The process of going through a criminal trial, especially if innocent of the charges, is difficult enough.  Every defendant who is offered bail should obtain a good, licensed bondsman who understands the bail process and can handle that aspect of the trial for the defendant.  This way the defendant can continue going to work, living at home, and dealing with the stress of having to prepare for trial without having to worry about how to manage bail.