Blog

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…

Las Vegas, NV - Georgia bondsman Scott Hall is the new President of the Professional Bail Agents of the United States. He won a close election over Connecticut’s Mary Casey. Scott brings many years of bail experience and extensive knowledge of running a business to the position and an impressive track record of legislative achievements as part of the legislative committee of the Georgia Association of Professional Bondsmen.   Also up for election were the Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. Beth Chapman - that’s right, Mrs. Duane “Dog” Chapman – was elected Senior Vice President while Pam Jackson retained her position as Treasurer and Maggie Kreins was voted in as the new Secretary.   Guest speakers included Dennis Bartlett, Executive Director of the American Bail Coalition, and Chief Circuit Court Judge John…

The Professional Bail Agents of the United States will hold its Winter Conference at The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas February 20 - 23.  This year's conference will include its staples Certified Bail Agents classes, Surety Council Meeting, Council of Bail Association Presidents, Welcome Reception and the Awards & Recognition Dinner.  Guest speakers will include American Bail Coalition Executive Director Dennis Bartlett and Chief Circuit Judge John G. McBain of Jackson County, Michigan. There will also be an election of select officers and board members including president, whose terms are expiring.  It is very important all PBUS voting members attending the conference participate and cast their vote for candidates who they feel will best represent the interest of all bail agents. I'm looking forward to attending this year's meeting and spending time with all the good people…

Austin, TX - New PBT President Scott Walstad of Dallas elected to spend his first months at the helm of one of the nation’s prominent bail agent associations getting their fiscal house in order.  The first hour or so of the Board of Directors meeting in the year's first quarterly meeting was spent talking about expense reports and meeting costs.  The objective, where can costs be reduced and processes streamlined to save costs.   The meeting, held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Austin was not all about cost cutting.  There was still work to be done on the legislative front even though Texas Legislature is in hibernation.  Redistricting will bring a number of changes and new faces to the legislature in 2012-2013.  This will require a lot of work by the PBT Legislative Committee…

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, in his recent State of the State address, called for no bail for repeat violent offenders. Christie said, “We can only improve our quality of life by keeping the most violent criminals off the streets”.   This is not a new direction for New Jersey. Last November, Governor Christie signed into law A 1491, which expanded the current list of criminal offenses carrying a bail restriction, to include crimes involving domestic violence. Anyone arrested for a charge of an aggravated nature like sexual assault, robbery, carjacking and now domestic violence must either post full cash, a bond secured by real estate or a fully insured bail bond. This class of offender cannot be released on their own recognizance or a ten percent cash bond.   The peoples’ representatives…

While in the Mile High City last week, I met with some of our bail agents, attended a meeting of the Committee on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) to hear a presentation on bail bonds and made a guest appearance on "In the Lobby" on WKRP Radio to discuss the bail bond industry.   The Colorado Bail Industry has been hit pretty hard lately. Not only because of the poor economy, but also because some courts have stopped setting surety bonds in lieu of small cash bnods with no option of posting a bail bond.   You may recall my reporting on SB11-186 (Alternative Bond) last year. This bill would have created a percentage cash bond managed by the local public Pretrial Release Agency. After a lengthy legislative battle SB11-186 failed to pass. Look for…

On the drive into work today it occurred to me last month marked my thirtieth year in bail. The ink was barely dry on my diploma from Plano Senior High School in December 1981 when I took a job as a runner for Guaranty Bail Bonds in downtown Dallas. While I’m a second generation bondsman, my first job was not working for my father, Jack Whitlock (though I would eventually work for him for more than 20 years), but my older brother who actually got me a job as a runner. My brother got out of the business and while I didn’t know it at the time, bail became my career choice. The life of a bond runner is far from glamorous. It’s a hard job, you’re effectively a gofer.   Go post this bond,…