Bail Industry Features

As jails begin to see rising inmate populations and draw nearer to overcrowded conditions, many officials are looking for alternatives to housing pretrial inmates. With the advancement of GPS (Global Positioning System) technology, many believe that they can use it to help keep track of criminals who are released before trial instead of having to keep them locked up in the jails.

In some ways, the idea of using GPS tracking is a good plan. It can eliminate the costs that many counties incur from housing inmates in local jails, which also include feeding and healthcare costs. At the same …

Recently, there have been reports about severely overcrowded conditions in the prisons and jails across the country. The issue became even more apparent in October 2011 when the State of California passed the new Realignment plan into action.

The concerns about growing jail populations has led many to argue over why it is happening and what should be done to alleviate the situation in detention facilities across the country.

One organization, the Pretrial Justice Institute, has been quick to place the blame on the commercial bail bond system as well as other means of release that are dependent on money. The …

How Bail Bonds (and Bondsman) Work
People often ask what makes a person decide to get into the bail bonds business.   If you take a look at our company, for example, our staff is extremely diverse in their professional backgrounds.   One was a credit union executive, another majored in economics.  We’ve even managed to round ourselves out with a soccer mom and a journalist.  The point I’m more leaning toward is that no one in our line of work looks as if they’ve rolled out of a biker bar, no mullets, no macho-men.

I’d also like to point out that Hollywood …

There are countless misconceptions people have about the bail bonds industry.  Many people assume that a defendant will be released from jail the second a bond is posted.  This isn’t exactly true.Getting out of jail is not like checking out of a hotel.  In California it often takes between four and six hours after a bond is posted for a defendant to be released from custody.

The number one priority for the jails is keeping people safe.  If the guards are undergoing a shift change, this process will take precedence over releasing an inmate.  There are times during the day …

COST OF BAIL BONDS IN CALIFORNIA
People are often shocked when they find out a friend has been arrested and their bail has been set in the tens of thousands of dollars.

California bail amounts are among the highest in the nation and the cost to bail someone out of jail can be substantial.  Most bail bonds in California are transacted at 10% of the defendant’s total bail.   The average bail in this state can is between $25,000 and $50,000, which means the average cost to purchase a bond can be between $2,500 to $5,000.

Many times the friend or family member …

Microgrid Helps Santa Rita Jail Go Green
So much emphasis is being placed on the need to “go green” these days, and now even correctional facilities are starting to make an effort. The Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County recently finished a distributed energy project at the facility that combines power resources from solar panels, fuel cells, diesel generators and wind turbines. This project creates a microgrid, which provides a power source independent of the larger grids.

The Santa Rita Jail is rated to house up to 4,000 inmates. Loss of power at this detention center, through a storm or failure …

OC Jail & Sheriff Department Going Green
Orange County has embarked on its first steps of the “going green” initiative by partnering with PsomasFMG to install turnkey solar power systems in five areas across the county. These systems are going to reduce the overall traditional electricity consumption throughout Orange County.

PsomasFMG set up the project financing that eliminates the need for the County to pay upfront costs. The company will also manage the installation of the 3.3 megawatt system.

The solar system that is being installed includes photovoltaic panels, which will be mounted on top of carport structures. At some of the …

Inmates in LA County May Be Transferred to Kern County Ease Crowding
The impact of the state’s realignment plan is being felt by the inmates in the Los Angeles County jail system. A system that was already near (or over) capacity each day has started to overflow with inmates. It is now becoming imperative for county officials to find ways to help alleviate the severely overcrowded conditions.

With this plan, select, low-level offenders who would have originally gone to a state prison to serve their sentence are instead being sent to county jails. Over 5,000 inmates were transferred into the Los Angeles …