Bondsmen wear many hats, and we are in a very unique position compared to everyone else who works in the criminal justice system. We see the defendants on a regular basis , we get to know them, their friends, family members and because of this we know why some are in the position that they are in. Once you learn what makes a person "tick" you may be able to reach them and get them the help that they need. The way things are within the criminal justice system, far too many people are placed in the same "box." In my opinion the system would see lower recidivism rates if they changed some of their protocols. Treat the individual and their specific problems and the chances of success will be much higher than they are now.
A good bail bondsman is vital to the criminal justice system, but unfortunately, there are many who work within the system, who have no idea what we do. Obviously, they know we get offenders out of jail, but they don't realize how much more some of us do. We do not go home and turn our phones off like most everyone else. We don't leave our office and leave our work behind until the following day. If you own your own bonding agency you are always on call. That's just the way it is. The reality is that there are many occasions that we will receive a phone call from the cosigner or a family member or friend. They need help right then, and they call because they know there's a great chance we will answer. Sometimes they will ask us to talk to the defendant, sometimes they are asking about their roll call dates. Other times they need to vent to us and they are hoping that we can make a difference. I must admit that there have been times that we are able to help, but there have been other times when we could not. I am not complaining at all. As I've mentioned, I don't mind trying, and I'm glad to be given the opportunity to do so.
One of my ongoing concerns is in regards to how under appreciated and under valued we are as an industry. Whenever there are problems within the criminal justice system in South Carolina, the bail bondsman are the ones who get blamed first. I'll be the first to admit sometimes our industry deserves the blame, but we don't deserve to be blamed for each and every problem. I realize that we do have "bad actors" within our industry, but every industry deals with "bad actors." With that said, there are many more of us who truly care about the people we help. Recently, our industry has made efforts try to clean things up and weed out the troublemakers, but we still have a long way to go. If I am ever given the opportunity, I would be more than happy to discuss some things with the State legislators that I know could help with things.
Unfortunately, due to politics and greed, there are certain groups that have been put into place because they want to see the bail industries demise. Take a look at the states and jurisdictions who have gotten rid of the bonding industry and you may be surprised at what you see. You may have to utilize different search engines because mainstream news sources like to censor and put out their own propaganda. In other words, they have their own agenda and they the financial incentives have been in place for quite a long time. If you decide to do the research, and you find an honest source, your eyes will be opened to what is really occuring. For example, you will find soaring crime rates, defendants who continue breaking the law because they know they can get away with it. You will find that (overall) more defendants are missing their court appearances because the bondsman have been removed from the equation . This leaves an over worked police force with low morale, and a community that isn't as safe as once before. You will see higher taxes because the apprehension costs are now the police departments problem. Whenever the bonding industry is in involved, the costs of apprehension falls on them. The (bonding agent), is liable in the event that their client misses court. With us out of the way, ultimately the taxpayers are the ones paying for crime rates to soar. They end up paying the salaries of the warrants division who have to go and find the ones who never came back to face their day in court. It doesn't have to be this way, and hopefully these states will realize that bail reform was a mistake. Once this occurs, then they can figure out a way to undo the mistake that they have made.
More to come.......
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