4 Ways To Reduce Your Failure to Appear Rate

The author Anne Rice once said, “To write something, you have to risk making a fool of yourself.” She was referring to writing works of literature, but she may as well have been talking about writing bail bonds. Every time you write a bond, you face the the very real risk that the person will fail to appear in court. The national average indicates that between 15 to 19 percent of people released on surety bail fail to appear, but that number varies agency by agency — often depending on the business practices used. We spoke with... Read more

Kidnapping Charges Against Bondsman Dropped

Charges have been dropped against St. Louis bail agent Gerald W. “Jerry” Cox, his son and two bounty hunters working for him.  The charges of kidnapping, first-degree burglary, tampering with a motor vehicle and stealing stemmed from an incident on August 17.  Two bounty hunters working for Cox are still facing charges. After Cox was charged with these crimes, St. Louis Circuit Clerk Mariano Favazza began the process of revoking Cox’s ability to write bonds.  Now that the charges have been dropped, Favazza has pledged to “revisit”... Read more

Some Bondsmen Offer Recession Rates

In a recession, crime rates have been shown to increase.   More crime leads to more arrests, which would logically lead one to think the bail business is booming.  However, the tough economy is adversely affecting bail agents as well.  It is hard for people to come up with the 10% to pay the bail agent, and harder to put up the collateral for the bond with the sagging housing market.  To combat this, the Associated Press is reporting that more bail agents are offering payment plans and low premiums.  Critics claim that these payment plans... Read more