Bail is money provided on behalf of a person to increase the likelihood of their making an appearance in court. If no appearance if made, the money is lost. Money obtained from a commercial provider is a bail bond, formally called a “surety bond”. Such a provider is a bail bond agent, or funkily, a bondsman.
The first modern bail bond agent was established by Tom and Peter McDonough in San Francisco in 1898.
Bail discriminates on the basis of economics, and attempts to reform the system have been extant since the 1920s. Usage of surety bonds has increased in the last ten years, despite the effort of different parties to find an alternative.
In practice, people arrested by the Long Beach Police department are taken to the police station jail at 400 West Broadway. It usually takes around twelve hours to book someone, but this depends on the work load of the jail operations staff. Booking involves fingerprinting, a background check and a search for warrants. If no bail is paid, a person is held until their court date.
When a bail bond agent is contacted, risk is assessed on the basis of how long the defendant has stayed at their current residence, whether they work and what are the charges. It usually takes one or two hours after booking for a bail bond agent to secure release.
The fee charged is usually 10% of bail, and many courts accept 10% of bail in cash instead of a bond for the full amount. There are bail bond agents offering bonds for 5% or even less, but costs are set by California law, so these providers are either breaking the law or effecting a “bait & switch” to gain business. If the defendant absconds, the agent can employ a bounty hunter, which is usually illegal overseas.
99 providers of bail bonds in Long Beach are listed at http://www.superpages.com/yellowpages/C-Bail+Bonds/S-CA/T-Long+Beach/.
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