Bail Agents Claim Pretrial Release Programs Create Conflict

Hanover County, Virginia – Both bail companies and pretrial release programs claim to keep jail populations in check by releasing defendants out of jail. However, this is where the agreement ends. Bondsmen claim pretrial release programs cost taxpayers money. Champions of pretrial programs claim the programs focus on rehabilitation and monitoring.  Bondsmen have gotten political, working with groups such as the Lower Cape Fear Bail Bonding Association, the North Carolina Bail Agents Association, and the N.C. Bail Agents Association Political... Read more

PBUS “All Hands on Deck!” Alert

PBUS President Linda Braswell has announced the creation of the PBUS J.A.I.L. Summit, co-chaired by Armando Roche and Debbie Jallad, as a response to the NACo-PJI initiative to evaluate all county jails and, in essence, recommend pre-trial services at each of them (click here to read the NACo-PJI recommendations for Mecklenburg County, NC). The Summit will take place at the beginning of September in the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas area. Industry leaders will be invited to take part in this summit and distinguish how to engage PBUS members, bail agents,... Read more

What You Should Know About Pretrial Release Programs

According to The New York Times, the United States and the Philippines are the only two countries in the world with a dominant commercial bail system. In the past 40 years, the commercial bail system has come under intense scrutiny, as critics claim pretrial release should not be based on a defendant’s ability to pay a bail agent. The rise in anti-commercial bail sentiment has been accompanied by a wave of bail reform law, most commonly in the form of pretrial release programs run by the courts.  Pretrial release programs have also been... Read more