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
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.
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.