If you are in the bail industry, like me, you probably read
all the articles that are published in the media about our industry. Unfortunately, most of these articles are
about negative things. For example, a
couple weeks ago, a fugitive recovery agent in Arizona, broke into the wrong
house looking for a fugitive defendant.
To makes things worse, the house belonged to the Phoenix Chief of
Police. This story hit every paper
around the country. Now don’t get me
wrong, this situation is horrible and should have never happened, but what
people need to realize is that this one story shouldn’t define the entire
industry. Because on August 4th
2015, the same day this was happening, approximately 14,000 other bail agents
were doing a whole heck of a lot of good for the criminal justice system. These 14,000 agents were ensuring that over
90,000 defendants around the country show up for court. Unfortunately, you don’t see a lot of news
stories about that.
Everyday bail agents all over the country are guaranteeing
that the wheels of our criminal justice system continue to turn. As the most effective form of pretrial
release, bail agents in 46 out of the 50 states across the country, ensure the
appearance of those accused of a crime in court. Why is this important? Because when the defendant shows up for
trial, the system gets a chance to work.
The defendant gets a chance to tell their story. The people get a chance to tell their story. The potential victim(s) gets a chance at
justice. And most importantly, the
defendant isn’t out in the community committing additional crimes.
Unfortunately, the media misses the opportunity to share the
reality of this misunderstood business.
Instead, they gravitate towards promoting the dark, swarthy, crooked
images that have been created and promoted by Hollywood, reality television and
crime novelists over the years to sell more tickets, ratings and books. In addition to getting the image wrong, the
majority of stories about the bail industry get the facts wrong too. From stories about one-off incidents like the
one in Arizona to more mainstream politically motivated stories about “bail
reform” the bail industry is rarely portrayed in a factual way. For example, when describing why jails are
crowded, these stories claim that defendants are stuck in jail because they
can’t afford a $3000 bond. What they
don’t explain is that a $3000 bond would only require that the defendant come
up with $300 to be released.
Additionally, in today’s competitive bail market, with payment plans widely
available, that defendant has the ability to be released for even less than
that as long as they agree to a payment schedule. Also, what these stories never mention are
the countless studies that have been conducted around the topic of pretrial
release that all prove that it is the most effective way to ensure a
defendant’s appearance in court. Not
just one study, but dozens of studies, conducted by government entities, educational
institutions and private parties, that all come to the same conclusion, bail
works. The only problem is that the
effectiveness of bail doesn’t align with the “soft on crime”. “hug a thug”
political narrative driving the bail reform movement today. So instead of reading about the truth and the
facts, we get the glorified drama and negative spin.
What many people don’t realize is that, love them or hate them,
bail agents play an essential and effective role in the criminal justice
system. At no cost to taxpayers, they
hold defendants accountable and help ensure justice is done for all parties
involved. Yes there might be incidents
that portray the industry as “bad”, but the reality is that there is a lot more
“good” done in one day by bail agents than you would ever think.
Imagine if we judged all professions in the world like we do
the bail bond industry, just by the negative stories we see in the media. Is it fair to say all teachers sleep with
their students because a couple teachers did so? Probably not.
Is it fair to say all
professional athletes hit their wives because one did? Probably not.
I think you get where I am going with this.
Bail is something that not a lot of people fully understand
or have any experience with, but it is an industry that most will describe in a
negative way based on what they see in the movies and read in the media. It is time that people stop rushing to
judgement when they hear the word “bail.”
Instead, they should make the effort to fully understand the role, the
people and the effectiveness of the industry and base their judgement on the
facts. Because if people do take the
time to understand this industry, I am confident that they will see how much
the good does outweigh the bad and how important bail is to maintaining
accountability and fairness in the American criminal justice system.
Bail & Appearance Bond. They just don't just get out. Appearance is what its all about.
ReplyDelete