If a person is arrested and accused of a crime bail may be set by the judge to allow the accused to go back in the community to live and work until the trial date. There are several ways to raise bail for release. The accused or the family of the accused can give cash to the court which will be held until the trial date when the accused returns to court. It is possible to gain a surety bond in which a bail bondsman puts up the cash for the bail and is responsible for paying the court if the accused flees. Property bonds are set up so that there is a lien against property which would be surrendered to the courts if the accused flees, or is released when the accused shows up on the court date.
Using Bail bondsmen is usually the best and fastest way to gain release from jail. Fortunately, most bondsmen run a 24*7 Service! After being contacted, they will show up at the jail to post bond to get the accused released quickly. Using one is a fairly simple process which requires some basic information about the accused. For instance, the bondsman will base whether or not it is a good investment to post bail depending on the police history of the accused. If there is a lengthy record, he or she may not be worth the trouble. However, if he or she has familial bonds, a permanent job, and residence, then flight risk is minimized. In that situation a bondsman would feel more comfortable releasing funds to post bail because the likelihood of showing up for court is favorable.
The bondsman will ask for a few details such as where the prisoner is located and the booking number so bail can be posted. The bondsman will also need to know how much the bail is. The accused will be charge whatever is allowable by the statutes of the state. It is possible that the fee will be anywhere between eight and ten percent of the bond amount.
If the suspect decides to flee the state and not return for court, the bondsman loses the money which was given to the court. The bondsman may then hire a bounty hunter to find the suspect and bring him or her back for court. Bail bondsmen can sue the accused for money which was lost to the court.
