Author: tkanger

Las Vegas, NV - The Professional Bail Agents of the United States recently held its 2013 Winter Conference in Las Vegas.  I was in attendance and found The Mirage Hotel & Casino a welcoming venue for this year’s event.  American Idol was taping its show in the hotel’s Beatles’ Love Theater, which provided an added boost of excitement to the week. It was apparent at the 2012 Mid-Year meeting in San Diego, PBUS was moving to a healthier place financially.  PBUS had shed itself of the top-heavy expenses that dogged them for too many years.  At the meeting last week, the Board of Directors reported the bail industry’s national association was flush with cash and in a very good place financially. Current PBUS President Scott Hall of Georgia introduced Corrine Markey as the new…

The historic city of Savannah, GA was not as inviting as it can be as attendees of the meeting of the Georgia Association of Professional Bondsmen were met with a cool rain and stiff breeze. However, it didn’t take long for things to heat up inside the Hyatt Regency where the election of GAPB officers and directors was taking place.   It was standing room only in the stuffy meeting room where the air was electric and candidates were working to secure votes from GAPB members. It was all, outgoing GAPB President, Jared Skelton could do to keep control of the room while we all heard from the candidates making their case for why they were the most qualified to serve in the positions they were seeking.   In the end, Scott…

I must admit, I had never heard of League City, Texas before seeing it on the PBT meeting schedule.  League City sits astride the Gulf of Mexico about 30 miles south of Houston. Anyone who attends PBT meetings know it's going to be meticulously organized and well attended.  The 2012 annual meeting was moved to League City after a string of Fall meetings in San Antonio.  One of the basic planning challenges for any association is selecting a meeting site that will inspire attendance.  Texas is one of those states where flying is a must for some of the meeting locations.  For instance, it's an eleven hour drive from El Paso to League City. PBT rolls allot into their annual meeting including The PBT Golf Classic and Auction benefiting The Texas Bail PAC, legislative meeting, board…

The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics recently released its report Criminal Victimization, 2011. This report reveals some alarming statistics with respect to the increase in crimes nationally.   According to the BJS report there was a 17% increase in the overall rate of violent victimization per 1000 persons age 12 and older. The rate of violent crimes increased from 19.3% in 2010 to 22.5% in 2011. Household burglaries increased 14% in 2011 over 2010.   Property crimes also saw an increase of 11% year over year.   In my view the alarming increase in violent crimes is due, in part, to the departure by many courts across the country from guaranteeing the appearance in court of criminal defendants with a bail bond. They instead use release options designed to generate revenues for…

Are you one of those bail agents that swears off participation in state and national bail associations as a waste of time? You question the leadership or legislative agenda of these associations? Perhaps you believe the association is controlled by one surety company or another or perhaps a large general agency.   It may be that your resistance to get involved is simple apathy or bail is still strong in your county and you’re not concerned about what’s happening elsewhere.   Well, it’s time to get involved.   Perhaps you’ve heard of billionaire George Soros? Well, he’s taken up the cause of pretrial detainees by providing substantial funding to the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) to promote the elimination of money bail, bail bonds in favor of less restrictive and cost free (to the…

A common misnomer among the general public is, regardless of the economy there will always be crime and as such business will always be booming for bail agents. If only that were true, like any other small business, bail agents are feeling the pinch in these tough times.    A bad economy can and has created a number of negative financial impacts on the commercial bail industry and they come from different sources. When someone is arrested they would typically have any number of friends, family or co-workers they could call upon for assistance to post their bond.  With high unemployment, soaring gas prices and a home foreclosure epidemic, an arrestee’s circle of financial support has shrunk considerably. Most people are holding their cards close and their cash closer to deal with their…

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…