Have you ever been in an been in a situation where you had to pay bail to get someone out of jail or to release someone close to you who was arrested? You were also angry and upset at the person for allowing him or herself to get arrested in the first place. Well take heart because you are not alone.

Every day millions of people are arrested and someone like you has to go and contact a bail bonds agency in order to make arrangements to pay the bail, just to get that person out of jail or release them in your custody. This can be a very stressful and awkward experience for you, not counting the loss of money involved. If you are at this stage and you want to know why you had to call a bail bonds agency to take care of the matter, you will need to look at the role the bails bond agency has, and how and why bail is set:

Bail bond obligations: Many times when a bail is set for the offense, the amount is so high that the person can’t pay for it. So what happens in this situation is the person involved can’t pay it so he gets his family to contact a bail bonds agency to make arrangements to either put up the bail or have the person released. This is not the same in all states. Because in other states, defendants may arrange bail by paying 10% down and the rest by signing a lien on some type of collateral they have.

How bails are determined: In many situations, the judge will decide how much the bail will be by looking at several factors. Here are some of those factors:

How serious is the charge: If the charge is really serious, the bail may be set pretty high. An example of this would be if the defendant is charged with disorderly conduct compared to committing back robbery. The bail would be set higher for the bank robbery since this is a more serious offense.

Past criminal history: If the defendant has a bad history of criminal activity, the judge may set a higher bail even if the charge is not as serious. The judge will look at the number of prior convictions, the seriousness of the convictions, the recent conviction, and how similar the convictions are to the present charge.

Prior warrants: If the defendant has any prior warrants for his arrest, his bail will be set much higher than normal. He may even decide not to set any bail but to have the person thrown in jail. If the defendant does have a prior warrant that was cleared, it still shows the judge he failed to appear in court for his charge. Thereby, the judge may set the bail high enough to ensure that the defendant does come back.

Ties to the community: If the defendant should be well-respected in the community and have ties to it in some way, he may get what is referred to as an ROR bail set for a misdemeanor and released. These ties can include owning a home, having a full-time steady job, living in the same area for a long time, having family in the same community, being a US citizen, and having family and friends in the courtroom during the proceedings.

Arraignment: This is not when the accused is booked and sent to jail. This is when the judge hears the case and decides whether bail is necessary or not, and if so, how much should it bet set to.

Bail bond agencies act as the go between. They enable you to have your friend or family member freed from the custody of the courts or jail, without requiring you to post all the money. When you contact a bail bonds agency, they will usually collect a specific percentage of the total bail, whatever it may be from you and will guarantee the Court that you will appear when your hearing is scheduled.

It is not unusual for a bail bonds agency to collect up to 10% of the bail from you ahead of time. This is known as a premium. If you cannot pay this amount or your friends or family members can’t pay it, the bail bonds agency will typically arrange financing for you. As soon as payment is received, or arrangements for payment is received (if by financing), the bail bonds agency arranges for the defendant to be released.

The whole process is not hard. You have someone who is in jail. You call the bail bonds agency about your problem. He will ask you for the defendant’s legal name, date of birth, where he is being held, the booking number, the charge, and how much the bail is. You pay bail bonds agency 10% of the bail. They contact the court or jail to determine the exact bail information and arrange for the defendant’s release. He contacts you to let you know arrangements are complete and to pick up the defendant.

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