Professional Bail Bondsman have been in existence in the United States since 1898. The very first bondsman could be found in San Francisco, CA.
The landscape of the Professional Bail Industry has changed vastly over the almost 120 years since we first showed up in the criminal justice system. You can imagine the impact bondsman have had in the Criminal Justice system, or maybe you can’t since it’s been around longer than the oldest living person in the United States.
Well guess what! You don’t have to imagine it. All you need to do is look at states like Illinois where the crime rate in Chicago land is growing higher and higher every day. Remember when people wanted to visit Chicago? Look at states like Kentucky, who is fifth with the highest poverty rate in the country and in the top 12 for illegal drug overdoses. What do Chiraq and Louisville have in common? Both of those states eliminated the commercial bail system and made crime free. Essentially, they eliminated the accountability role that the Bail Bondsman plays in the criminal justice system.
Bondsman have been helping families guide their wandering loved ones through the court system and saving the tax-payers Billions of dollars. As with many things, there is potential change upon us. The confusion with the potential change is that it doesn’t appear the current system is broken. Nonetheless, states are experimenting with a computer program that will determine what level of accountability is needed for a defendant. This program will be a disaster! This program is nothing more than oversold, Facebook equivalent, personality test that will determine whether a defendant can be free.
Lucky for you, the tax-payer, these changes will be done at YOUR COST. Crime rates are frequently higher where these systems are present because accountability is lost. In part a pre-trial defendant’s civil rights are potentially in violation because it is being left up to a computer program to determine the “innocent until proven guilty” individuals release.
I wonder if the Judge’s and District Attorney’s that support this change, in the Great State of Texas, will be willing to take a pay cut since some of them are also advocating bringing in a computer to do their job?
If you’d like to learn more about how Bail Reform will affect you as both a defendant and a tax-payer, check out the helpful link listed. https://www.bailreform.us/