There's an alarming trend sweeping across our nation. I've known about it for some time, but it didn't affect us in Washington State--until now.
In 1997, a company formed in Indiana that for the first time allowed incarcerated inmates to post their own bail at the jail/court via credit card. Since, according to the company's website, 30 other states have followed suit.
For several years, Thurston County in Washington State has allowed inmates to post their own bail directly with the jail/court. In recent months, Auburn, Enumclaw and Wilkeson Courts in King County have begun the same practice.
So, you ask, what's wrong with that?
Plenty.
To become a Bail Agent in Washington State, one has to jump through alot of hoops to do what we do. We have to have a clean police record, undergo background checks with the feds/state, pass a state test, become licensed with the state, and re-license every year--all of which takes a lot of time and a lot of money. There are no such requirements for court clerks or jail guards.
I cry foul. If court clerks and jail personnel are doing the same job as Bail Agents, they should be licensed by the state, and held to the same standards as we are. To give perferential treatment to one group and not the other is unfair, unethical, and should be stopped.
Secondly, Bail Agents perform vital roles that court clerks and jail guards can't do.
-
While defendants are out on bail, bonding companies monitor their whereabouts. We keep track of them while their cases are pending. If defendants commit new crimes while out on bail, generally, we know about it. State law says we can return them to custody if public safety is at risk.
-
If defendants fail to appear in court, we specifically look for these individuals to return them to custody--at our own expense. It doesn't cost the taxpayers or the courts any money to do.
-
By returning defendants to custody, we produce them in court to ensure justice is served. Though we make no presumptions about guilt or innocence--that's up to the judge and jury to decide--we return them to court so their guilt/innocence can be determined.
-
Fugitives know that the police don't have the time or the manpower to specifically look for them, but we do. By making all our own arrests, we work with the police to get dangerous criminals off the streets. In a very real way, we help reduce crime and promote public safety.
By courts setting bail at $1000 Bail Bond or $100 cash, defendants are posting their own $100 at the jail. The real problem with this is if defendant don't go back to court, the court keeps the bail money. Courts financially benefit when defendants fail to appear. and no one, to my knowledge, specifically goes out to look for these individiuals to return them to custody.
Having been in the bail business for over twenty years, I learned from experience that if defendants aren't carefully monitored by Bail Agents and quickly apprehended after they jump bail, most re-offend. Not surprisingly, in some areas, the crime rate has already doubled and will only continue to escalate.
When Oregon outlawed Bail Agents in 1978, to allow defendants to post their own bail with the jail/court, they didn't anticipate their crime rate would skyrocket. With no one designated to arrest fugitives after they jump bail, there are currently over 26,000 felony warraints in one county alone. Oregon is ranked the 11th highest state in the nation for overall crime. Crime had gotten so rampant, according to my source, Oregon is consdering changing the law to allow commerical bail again.
My main concern is: apparently, courts aren't interested in justice anymore. What about the victims that don't get their day in court? What about public safety? When did courts become big business: more interested in making money than they are in administering justice?
Bail Agents have a little known, but vital role in the justice system. Bypassing us merely to add funds to the court treasury is a serious and costly mistake. With public safety in jeopardy, we need to stop this dangerous trend before it's too late.
