Bail bond resources and research studies

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Bail bond related articles and resources

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The Philadelphia Inquirer Expose (2010), “The Philadelphia Series”
  • Part 1 of 4: Deposit Bail Has Failed Philadelphia
    ‘The bail system is a complete cartoon,’ says Deputy District Attorney John P. Delaney Jr., one of Philadelphia’s top prosecutors.(1) Delaney is referring to the city’s deposit bail system, which means defendants post 10 percent of their bail amount to the court in cash. If the defendant fails to appear, the court keeps all of the deposit and the remaining 90 percent is then owed to the court by the defendant.
  • Part 2 of 4: Criminals Defy Broken 10% Deposit Bail System
    There is an overwhelming amount of Philadelphia fugitives on the streets due to the city’s deeply flawed 10% deposit bail program. Philadelphia is owed over $1 billion in uncollected bail forfeited monies by criminal defendants who skip court and return to the streets. There is no one who collects the remaining 90% of their bond when they do not appear for their court appearances. This has created an unsafe environment for everyone.
  • Part 3 of 4: Witness Intimidation Causes Cases to Collapse
    Witness intimidation on Philadelphia streets has shifted the way trials are run. Intimidation is infused in the Philadelphia criminal courts; there are many no-show witnesses and recanted testimonies which causes cases to collapse. ‘People are frightened to death,’ said District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham. ‘We’ve had witness after witness intimidated, threatened, frightened.'(1)  Prosecutors, detectives and lawyers have said that witness fear has become a factor in almost every court case involving violent crime in Philadelphia.
  • Series, Part 4 of 4: Defense Lawyers Exploit the Court System
    ‘We have a system that is on the brink of overall collapse,’ says Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus P. McCaffery, a former Philadelphia judge.(1) Among large urban counties, Philadelphia has the nation’s lowest felony-conviction rate. Philadelphia defendants walk free on all charges in nearly two-thirds of violent-crime cases. ‘These are the most horrendous crimes that can be committed— murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault,’ he adds.

Bail Industry Survey Results – Judges (2012)

Judges Survey Results: Verdict Out On Bail Bond Industry: Judges Agree that Commercial Bail is Most Effective Form of Pretrial Release

Bail Industry Survey Results – Sheriffs (2012)

Sheriffs Survey Results: Sheriffs Give the Bail Industry a Big Thumbs Up

Bail Industry Survey Results – Courts (2012)

Courts Survey Results: Criminal Justice Stakeholders Identify Bail Bond Industry as an Important and Effective Component

Behind the Paper with Brian Nairin (2010-13)

Check out Brian Nairin’s Blog: Brian is a nationally recognized expert in bail law who graduated with honors from Loyola Law School and was admitted to the California Bar in 1989. In 1997, Brian became President of Associated Bond. In the same year, he was elected President of the National Association of Bail Insurance Companies (NABIC), which was recently replaced by the American Bail Coalition (ABC). Brian serves as an officer of International Fidelity Insurance Company (IFIC) and Allegheny Casualty Company (ACC). In 2003, the bail underwriting functions of IFIC and ACC for the entire United States were moved to Calabasas in 2003 under the direction and leadership of Brian where he became President and CEO of what is now the AIA Family of Companies. Additionally, Brian has served as the primary educator for the California Bail Agents Association’s (CBAA) continuing education curriculum. Moreover, Brian has been retained to serve as an expert in numerous litigation and regulatory matters relating to bail. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Strike Back!

Behind the Paper with Jerry Watson (2010-14)

Check out Jerry Watson’s Blog: Jerry Watson serves as Chief Legal Officer to AIA, Senior Vice-President and Legal Counsel, Bail, at IFIC. He is the immediate past Chairman of the Private Enterprise Board of Directors of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) – America’s largest bi-partisan state legislator member organization on whose board he has represented the commercial bail industry for the past 15 years. He has also served as General Counsel of the American Bail Coalition since its founding and is a member of the Bail Advisory Council of the Surety and Fidelity Association of America (SFAA). His undergraduate and law degrees are from Baylor University and he is a graduate of the National College of Criminal Defense Attorneys and Public Defenders. He has testified as an expert on bail in various state and federal cases, among them being the country’s largest bail related damage suits. In Jerry’s 46 years in the bail industry, always as an attorney, he has represented local retail agents, general agencies, insurance companies and insurance companies’ trade associations before state and federal courts and regulatory agencies.

The Crime Report
  • Pretrial Reform: Stop Scapegoating the Bail Industry
    As the pretrial reform debate heats up across the country, there has been no shortage of finger pointing, with most of it directed toward the private sector pretrial community—otherwise known as the commercial bail industry.
  • Pretrial Justice: The True Cost of Bail Reform
    Incarcerating defendants prior to trial can be an expensive undertaking.  That is why pretrial release has become such a hot topic with county supervisors and legislators in recent years.
Get all the BAIL FACTS

19 BAIL FACTS that show how commercial bail plays an essential role in the criminal justice system as well as an important role in keeping our communities safer.

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COURT APPEARANCE STATS

Out of 22,000 releases (felony and misdemeanor) in 2012 in Dallas County Texas, those released on a financially secured commercial bail bond were the most likely to appear for all court hearings.

Commercial bail bond 77%
Cash bond 71%
Attorney bond 66%
Public Sector Pretrial Unsecured Bond 63%