Author: tkanger

My memory takes me all the way back to our house in Memphis circa 1972 when Dad had the multi-line phone stationed on the coffee table so he could listen in on bond calls taken by the office staff.  My Mom would take it in stride every time Dad would accept a call during dinner or the holidays and when he would leave the house to run a bond down to the jail. Mom would occasionally work at the various bonding company’s dad had owned.  She also worked at Texas Fire & Casualty and Underwriters Surety, Inc. through the years.  She handled agent licensing and prepared contracts.  Mom would find herself closing Dad’s door often because he had a tendency to cuss a lot in those days.   In addition…

The atrophication of the criminal justice system over the past several decades is nothing short of remarkable.  My memory goes back to the late sixties.  Remember how safe we felt as kids? Our parents let us roam the neighborhoods and walk to the convenience store and bus stops unchaperoned.  No fear. Come forward five decades.  Now we drive our kids to school even if school is three blocks away.  We make sure we pickup our kids from soccer practice on time so they don't sit on the bleachers alone and unguarded.  Fear. A front-page article appeared in today's issue of the USA Today, The Ones That Get Away.  The gist of the article is more than a few prosecutor's across the nation are passing on the opportunity to extradite fugitives,…

 How would you feel about driving a car with brakes guaranteed to work 70% of the time?  What about strapping on a parachute with a low failure-to-open rate of just 30%?  According to an online article posted by the Los Angeles Times, System would change how L.A. County inmates get early release the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office will be submitting a proposal to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to move to a “risk based” system to determine which inmates should receive early release.  A 70% success rate appears to be good enough for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office. California’s prison realignment has really made a mess of the criminal justice system that was already facing big challenges.  California is notorious for it 70% recidivism rate among parolees…

Driving on the streets of Indy this time of year looks oddly similar to the warm-up lap just prior to the start of the Indy 500 with commuters zigzagging on city streets.  The reason for the ess maneuvers is not to warm-up tires but to dodge the gaping pot holes created by all the salt put on the roads to deal with the ice and snow. The Polar Vortex created a miserable winter for everyone from South Dakota to Texas to New York with regular doses of sleet, ice and record snow falls.  This may have been the impetus for the 2014 PBUS Winter Conference in Las Vegas enjoying record attendance.  The near perfect weather in Las Vegas was just too tempting to pass up for many of us. The…

 I traveled to Sacramento, California last week to attend an area meeting of the California Bail Agents Association.  Current CBAA President Maggie Kreins is following through on her promise have more interaction with California Bail Agents. The meeting was productive with Lynn Brown, CEO of Advocates for Public Safety, making a presentation on the projected unintended consequences of AB 109 – Prison Realignment.   The released of tens of thousands of “low level offenders” from California State Prison has created a crime wave through the state. Unfortunately, there are felons convicted of aggregated offenses who are being classified as “low level offenders” release back into society resulting in an increase in violent crime and crime in general. I met with Assemblyman Curt Hagman at the State Capitol to discuss impact of…

Every now and then a bill will be introduced in a state legislature that has something for everyone.  Indiana State Sen. Brent Steele authored SB395 and filed it earlier this month and it should have broad appeal to all Hoosiers. SB395 would benefit school kids, public safety, victims rights, fair competition, defendant's rights and taxpayers. This measure won a Do Pass vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee January 28th and must now receive sufficient votes to pass through the Senate.  That vote will take place Monday or Tuesday. SB395 must receive sufficient votes to pass.   All Indiana bail agents and recovery agents are urged to email or call their State Senator today and ask them to support SB395. Spread the word to your friends, family and teachers SB395 is good for them as parents, taxpayers and for their personal safety.  Here's why.…

Just last night my daughter Samantha, a seventh grader, sang the National Anthem at the boys’ middle-school basketball game with just five minutes’ notice.  She volunteered after the scheduled singer cancelled.  She had never before sung the National Anthem in front of a crowd.  Kids are fearless. As we roll into another legislative season there will be times when someone representing the bail profession will testify at their state house in support of, or in opposition to, a piece of legislation.  I’ve had the opportunity on several occasions to testify before a legislative body about bail bonds.  I’ve found it to be exhilarating. In my experience, one must be prepared to articulate the purpose of a bail bond and the function of a bail agent as it relates to the…

Happy New Year! Wow!  It’s 2014.  Let’s not think about how long we’ve been working in this business and the fact bail agents never seem to retire.  Dan Gibbs of Knoxville, Tennessee recently told me he will breathe his last breath sitting at his desk at City Bonding Company writing a bond.  Dan loves to write bail and work with his clients. It’s fair to say a retail bail agent lives the equivalent of three years to just one of your typical professional. This is because bail agents are usually on duty at some point during the first shift, second shift and the graveyard shift while they’re on vacation, taking their kids to school and when their attending Sunday services.  It’s the all consuming nature of this business. Bail agents…

I travelled to Trenton, New Jersey last Thursday to attend a meeting of bail agents in that state.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss proposed changes to the law that would effectively put the taxpayers of The Garden State in the bail bond business while putting public safety at risk. New Jersey Assemblyman John Burzichelli has introduced a bill that would put court personnel in charge of monitoring defendants released on their own recognizance pending trial.  In other words place the cost of tracking defendants on the backs of taxpayers.  Costs currently shouldered by criminal defendants and private bonding companies. Bail professionals fill a critical role within the criminal justice system.   They get defendants to court at their own expense.   Without a defendant present in court the criminal…

Six months same as cash, twelve easy installments, you can buy just about anything on a payment plan.  Why should bail bonds be any different? Just last week I received my quarterly statement for my life insurance policy (being a surety rep has it’s risks).  I suppose I could pay my annual premium all at once.  From a cash management standpoint, quarterly payments are preferred.  The same goes for the payments on my car, house, homeowners insurance and cable TV.  So why do some judges, prosecutors and legislators have a problem with bail agents allowing criminal defendants or their family members to pay off the premium balance over time? Newspapers in Maryland, New Jersey and South Carolina recently ran articles and editorials on the subject of bail agents extending credit…