Blog

I traveled to New York City earlier this week where I attended a meeting of the American Bail Coalition and prominent members of the local bail bond community.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss New York’s current bail system and efforts by some politicos to provide taxpayer funded bail to criminal offenders to the exclusion of bail bonds and to develop solutions to address their concerns. New York City has a large criminal justice system with more than 10,000 people in jail on any given day.  Most criminal offenders are released on their own recognizance while a much smaller percentage is released on a secured bail bond. New York State has a massive criminal justice system with many areas that require reform.  There are those who want to…

It’s been an unusually hot summer in the Pacific Northwest.  Seattle saw a streak of 90 degree days recently not experienced since the summer of 1981.  I experienced this first hand while in Washington State last week visiting American Surety agents in Vancouver, Olympia, Port Orchard and Kennewick.  On top of the heat was the lack of rain and resulting in water rationing due to the extreme drought conditions and the smoke in the area from the forest fires. While in Kennewick I was invited on a ride-along by Sgt. Erik Magnuson of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.  I immediately jumped at the offer.  Bail agents and law enforcement complement each other, they arrest them and we make sure the get to court.  I really wanted to experience the world…

It's good to be at home this week working in our northside Indianapolis office.  I've never minded traveling the country visiting with bail agents though spending time at home with family is always welcome. It's looks like I'm not the only in Indianapolis this week. The National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA) is holding its 43rd Annual Conference and Training Institute at the JW Marriott Hotel situated downtown next to Victory Field, home of the Indianapolis Indians. The Circle City is a great convention destination.  As a taxpayer I'm happy to have them spend their money in our city.  That said Indiana has largely gone towards the 90 percent discounted bail folks so our state doesn't make for fertile farmland for the NAPSA version of pretrial release. You may…

I was eager to make my trip to Wilmington, North Carolina last week to attend an NCBAA meeting.  It was my first time attending.  While American Surety Company has done business in North Carolina for many years over the past three decades we only recently returned to doing business in the state after a multi-year hiatus. The Tar Heel State has the right to boast about its very effective bail agent association.  The NCBAA enjoys large turnouts at the continuing education classes held across the state and their legislative efforts are as productive as any other bail association in the country. I only knew a few people at this meeting though I was pleasantly surprised of the number of bail agents who were regular readers of our e-newsletter and appreciative…

Every now and again I’ll go on a travel splurge where it seems I’m on a plane more than I am on the ground.  I’m currently in the midst of a six day travel schedule where I’ll have a flight each of the six day of travel for a total of eleven flights.  It’s no track record for me but its close. This stretch of travel began last Thursday with a trip to Weatherford, Texas where I attended a meeting of the Parker County Bail Bond Board.   American Surety Company was on the agenda for a new license.  Our license was approved.  Congratulations to our new agent Melissa Thompson, it’s a big deal in Texas when you obtain your obtain your first license from a bail bond board. Before the…

I attended the PBUS Summer Conference last week at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs.  It truly is a beautiful part of our country. Like most PBUS events there were classes and seminars, cocktail parties and dinners. Bail agents from across the nation sharing tips and stories.  I always walk away with something useful from these events. E-filing was the hot topic at this meeting for some reason.  I'm aware of only two counties in the country that currently permit the e-filing of a bail bond, Lee County, Texas and Gadsden County, Florida. Texas in particular is demonstrating the most interest in e-filing bail bonds with Collin and El Paso counties announcing an intent to transition to an electronic filing process. There were many bail agents at the conference…

In the waning months of 2009 The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a series of articles exposing the chronic problems plaguing the criminal justice system in the City of Brotherly Love.  For a period of decades there had been rampant witness intimidation, an ineffective deposit bail system costing the city hundreds of millions of dollars and a list of outstanding warrants that would put the white pages to shame.  Significant changes were desperately needed.  Thanks to members of the private sector and Pennsylvania legislators interested in public safety and accountability for bad actors, changes to the bail system have arrived in the form of SB397. Change doesn’t happen on its own.  In the case of SB397, change took five long years and was spearhead by Nick Wachinski, outgoing Executive Director of the…

In the waning months of 2009 The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a series of articles exposing the chronic problems plaguing the criminal justice system in the City of Brotherly Love. For a period of decades there had been rampant witness intimidation, an ineffective deposit bail system costing the city hundreds of millions of dollars and a list of outstanding warrants that would put the white pages to shame. Significant changes were desperately needed. Thanks to members of the private sector and Pennsylvania legislators interested in public safety and accountability for bad actors, changes to the bail system have arrived in the form of SB397. Change doesn’t happen on its own. In the case of SB397, change took five long years and was spearhead by Nick Wachinski, outgoing Executive Director of the…

John Oliver recently took up the issue of bail in his most recent episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.  I say episode because most of what he espoused on the bail system was fiction.  I watch this show every so often and I do find Oliver funny.  However, having heard his thoughts on bail I now have to question the veracity of any topic he chooses to address.  Because his show is only 30 minutes long Oliver must paint pictures with broad strokes, no time for specifics and details.  John Oliver uses an example of one man jailed for a suspended license, unable to pay a $1000 bond, so he sat in jail.  What is not disclosed is, why this man’s license was suspended?  Was he convicted of…

A bill that would have added a $15 fee to each bail bond was held up in the Appropriations Committee yesterday and is now dead for the 2015 session of the California State Legislature. The California Department of Insurance was behind efforts to pass AB 1406 which, if passed, would have generated millions of dollars for the Bail Investigation and Prosecution Fund.  This fund would have underwritten the costs to investigate complaints against California Bail Agents. Commercial surety companies and bail agents doing business in California already pay millions of dollars annually to the State of California and the California Department of Insurance, in the way of premium taxes, licensing fees and appointment fees, so the addition of a $15 per bond fee seemed excessive. AB 1406 faced opposition from…