How Do Bail Bondsmen Prevent Failures to Appear in Court?

When a defendant goes to jail, they are later released upon the payment of a set amount, known as bail.  The defendant pays this sum in the form of a bond.  A growing number of defendants have enlisted the service of a bail agent or surety bond to help pay the cost of the bond.  When a bail agent pays a bond, they become responsible for the appearance of the defendant in court.  The defendant must appear in court on the date given or else the bail agent is personally responsible, incurring additional costs.

So, why then are bail agents more effective at preventing failures to appear in court than release on own recognizance?  The answer is simple.  Due to the financial obligation and interests the bail agent has in each defendant, they will guarantee the appearance of their defendant to safeguard their own interests.

Often bail agents utilize bounty hunters to chase down and bring defendants to justice if they attempt to jump bail.  Bounty hunters employed by bail agents have rights to arrest and search for clients just as police officers would.  Moreover, bounty officers and bail agents have more time to spend searching for defendants, which certifies to actually find the defendant and bring them to justice.

Many opponents of the bail agent or surety bond system have suggested that release on their own recognizance provides more incentive for a defendant to show up in court.  Yet, statistics have proven the opposite to be true according to a number of articles, namely the articles by Dr. Michael Block and Eric Helland and Alexander Tabarrok.  Dr. Block not only confirms the aforementioned assertions, but he also calculates the projected savings incurred by the use of surety bonds or bail agents over those released on their own recognizance. 

Block cites his information by looking at the statistics of the 12 largest counties in California, pointing out that less FTA (failure to appear) rates are produced from surety bonds.  Furthermore, Helland and Tabarrok provide persuasive reasoning to concur with the assertions of Block, citing the increased resources and time available to bail agents.  They argue that police bureaus are understaffed, so many defendants who fail to appear are issued warrants for rearrest, but rearrest is often impossible due to the importance of other issues in the police precinct.  Both articles highlight the convincing evidence in support of surety bonds and bail agents over the defendant’s release on their own recognizance.