Bail agents in Minnesota have formed a new association, the Minnesota Professional Bail Bond Association (MNPBBA). In a letter to all Minnesota bail agents, Board Member Randy Eason writes:
The Minnesota bail community is very excited to announce the formation of a new bail bond association! The Minnesota Professional Bail Bond Association (MNPBBA) is a non-profit corporation organized to represent the needs and interests of bail bond sureties, agencies and agents.
The Minnesota Department of Commerce has encouraged the bail community to form a viable association – and this is an exciting charge! We have this opportunity to ensure the preservation of bail in our great state. If we fail to take responsibility for the existence of our industry, and for its governance, others will do it to us and for us. Or, they might consider alternatives to our industry. This is a critically important step. You can’t have any effect on the industry tomorrow, if you refuse to get involved today.
Whether you own a bail company or work as an agent, and whether you earn your living in bail or do this part time, we all recognize the critical role bail plays in Minnesota’s criminal justice system. We all appreciate the importance of having a private-industry solution to jail overcrowding and pretrial inmate release.
Remember that we all have a love for this profession and a desire to preserve it. It is very important that the bail bond community matures from its past and focuses on the future so that we may unite! To be succinct, we must combat this with a multi-pronged approach. First, we need to stop acting as though our competitors are our enemies. We are competitors, but we have far more in common than in difference. We must always act professionally; unprofessional behavior from bondsmen is the best argument that those who have other plans for our industry could ever have. We must help teach our politicians, law enforcement officers, the public at large, and the officers of the court, about the true benefits our industry has continued to provide in Minnesota for over 100 years.