Blog

Can you imagine the ball boy for the Indianapolis Colts saying to the head coach, put me in for Luck, I want to play quarterback? Or the grip on the movie set telling the director to sit Clint Eastwood down because he’s ready to play Josey Wells?   It’s hard to imagine, right? So why do specialty release options like deposit bail and pretrial services or tools like GPS ankle monitors believe they’re ready to replace surety backed bail bonds as a means to assure a defendant  appears for his/her court dates?   Public-funded government pretrial release programs were created to help the indigent gain release from jail pending trial.  As with any government agency, expansion is equal to survival so these programs had to expand their criteria from just helping the indigent…

North Richland Hills, TX – On a day where the temperature swelled to 111 degrees, bail agents from all parts of Texas and around the country came together to enjoy a round of golf or volunteer for an event raising cash for a great cause. The 23rd Annual Steven G. Whitlock Memorial Golf Tournament presented by the Professional Bondsmen of Texas raised $46,000 for Camp Esperanza.  This could not have been accomplished without the financial support of Dallas area businesses, bail agents and surety companies throughout Texas and across the nation.  The support from bail professionals for this event and their designated charity over the years is remarkable though not at all surprising.  Bail agents quietly go about supporting charities in their local communities without fanfare.  Bail agents provide a vital service to…

San Diego, CA – The PBUS Mid-Year Meeting held at the Manchester Hyatt in San Diego July 8-11 was by far the best PBUS summer meeting I’ve attended in more than a decade. The success of this meeting is a testament to the new administration and critical administrative changes made in the waning months of the last administration.   The coastal venue in Southern California was like an oasis. The hotel, the setting next to the pier and the weather were all very welcoming.  The scheduled was not too crowded and the information offered was fresh.  Both the cocktail party and dinner were first rate and while I did not attend, I understand the For Women’s Only Lunch was successful and everyone had a good time at Sea World on the final day…

We lost a friend and neighbor last week after a fourteen month battle with breast cancer. She was a doctor, young wife and mother of three. A California bail agent and longtime friend confided in me recently she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer. Another friend and bail agent in Georgia has an ongoing battle with melanoma. We’re used to having a remedy in the bail profession; locate and recover your fugitive, avoid a loss. The lines are not so clearly defined in the battle with cancer. Cancer can be easy to find but hard to catch. We lost my twin brother Steve in 1989 after he lost his battle with cancer. Steve had an inoperable tumor located in his brainstem known as a glioblastoma.  Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) died in 2009 of a brain tumor of the…

Legacy on Lanier Golf Club located on scenic Lake Lanier near Buford, Georgia was the site of the 6th Annual Georgia Sheriffs’ Association Statewide Golf Tournament held June 22. Proceeds raised from the event go to the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes.   The Georgia Association of Professional Bondsmen made a contribution and placed a sponsor’s tent on the 11th hole where GAPB volunteers handed out cold bottles of water and goodie bags to golfers enduring the 90 degree heat.   It doesn’t take a lot of encouragement to help kids. I attended the event on behalf of American Surety Company, an event sponsor. American Surety Company has a number of agent partners in Georgia and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to support the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association and their worthwhile efforts on…

After a three week lull in travel in early April, I was off and running again with trips to Texas, California, Georgia and Tennessee.  Amid my travels I tried to keep abreast of critical legislative events occurring in Alabama, California, Colorado, Louisiana and Missouri.   Alabama bondsmen tried in vain to defeat the implementation of an oppressive $35 bond fee while California bail groups make their opposition known on the Hancock bill (SB1180) that provides the first option of release to be on one’s own recognizance. We can trust them, right?   Over in Colorado there was a harmony of efforts to continue the authority of the Division of Insurance to regulate bail through 2017. It appears all interested parties walked away happy though not fully satisfied. That’s when you know it’s the best…

I love to go to movies. I’m looking forward to seeing The Avengers this weekend.  If ever I heard of a movie that had a bounty hunting priest hired to track down fugitives for Church’s Bail Bonds I would certainly go. The reason I like going to movies is to escape reality for a few hours.  In the case of a church writing bail, this could be the reality in Michigan if HB 5533 were to pass. HB 5533 would create “Charitable Bail Organizations” who could act as surety on a bail bond for no compensation.   If you’re a sinner charged with an ordinance violation, misdemeanor and yes, even a felony, under HB 5533 you could ask your local church to post your bond and you wouldn’t even be required to toss…

I got up early this morning to pick-up my folks, Jack and Annette, at their home to run them out to the airport. They were flying to Ft. Lauderdale where they will board a cruise ship that will take them south then west through the Panama Canal and ultimately to their final destination of San Diego. The trip will take about three weeks. Life after bail.   During the drive out to Indianapolis International we discussed bail, as usual. After working for him, with him, for 18 years, bail is still part of our regular conversations. I mentioned to him “I’m working with James Conrad, a recovery agent out of Memphis who asked me to pass along a hello.”  Jack said, “Hell, he’s as old as I am and he’s still going at it?” Dad…

Philly court taps the bail agent to help with appearance rate It has been three years since a series of articles ran in the Philadelphia Inquirer shining a spotlight on Philadelphia's broken bail system.  The expose cited one billion dollars of uncollected forfeited bail, nearly 50,000 long term bench warrants for failure to appear, witness intimidation and a criminal justice system bearing no teeth and largely ignored by criminal offenders.   Earlier this month, the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Administrative Governing Board, released Administrative Order No. 01 of 2012. The Administrative Order acknowledged a historical failure to appear rate of 30% among criminal defendants with cases in the Court of Common Pleas and Municipal Court and more than 60,000 outstanding warrants for failure to appear overall.  These are just a few elements that underscore the ineffectiveness of a one-size-fits-all Ten Percent…

Columbia, SC – I travelled to Columbia this week to attend a continuing education class held by the South Carolina Bail Agents Association. American Surety Company sponsored this particular class and with our sponsorship I was granted the opportunity to teach a segment of the course. I elected to speak about professionalism and the importance of conducting oneself in an appropriate manner when dealing with customers, clerks, judges and law enforcement. There is a steady stream of new licensees entering commercial bail so it is very important each retail owner guide and instruct their staff on the proper way to conduct themselves when dealing with the public and the courts.   As is customary in SCBAA continuing education classes, a representative of the Department of Insurance is invited to go over laws and…