No one wants to sit in jail after an arrest. Unfortunately, most people who are arrested for a crime will be sent to jail, if even for a few hours before they are booked and released on bail. Typically, however, it can take as long as 48 to 72 hours to get a bail hearing and post bail, depending on the severity of the crime, how busy the court is, etc. The good news is that when you have a reputable Fort Worth bondsman on your side, the entire process will be much less stressful because you’re not alone.
How Bail Bonds Work
When someone is arrested in the state of Texas, the courts will give them the option to request a bond hearing. They can’t just have someone show up with $5,000 cash on the spot and walk away (provided that $5,000 was the bail amount). You will want to contact a bail bonds company right away for their professional support, even if you’ve got the cash in hand to do the bailing yourself.
A bail bond company will do one of two things. They will assist people in paying the bail if they have the money, and as long as the defendant appears in court on their scheduled date, the money will generally be returned. Of course, most people don’t have the ready cash for bail. Therefore, the bail company can also secure the bail in the form of a bond, which is essentially a promise that the full bail amount will be paid in the event that the defendant doesn’t make the necessary court appearances. No money is actually exchanged until or unless there is a violation and the bail is forfeited.
Benefits of Bail Bonds
The obvious benefit here is that the defendant will not have to sit in jail until their hearing date. In the case of most minor crimes, this is helpful in several ways. It can allow people to continue with their jobs and take care of their families, instead of risking losing their job or disrupting their day-to-day lives. For those who don’t exactly want everyone to know they’re being investigated and charged with a crime, this is a great way to keep things quiet.
The other big benefit of bail bonds is that they keep people from having to come up with large sums of money on their own. For example, most bail agencies will only charge 10% of the total bail costs, which means if you’re given a $5,000 bond, you can pay the bail company $500 instead, which is much more reasonable. Bear in mind, of course, that this fee is not considered a portion of the bail amount, but a separate fee for using the bail bonds service.
Using a bail service also allows you to save the money you’d have spent paying the full bail for legal fees, living expenses, and other charges. After all, if you spend all your savings on bail, how are you going to pay an attorney to represent your case? Bail is really a simple process, and the courts and bail companies will usually handle the particulars for you, so it’s a great option for people who need help financially and in other ways.
The Types of Bail Bonds in Texas
There are three main bail/bond options in the state of Texas: cash bonds, surety bonds, and a personal recognizance (PR) bond. The latter is simply a promise to appear in court. If the crime is minor and/or the defendant is an otherwise reputable member of the community or they have work and life obligations, some people will be let out of custody until their hearing on a PR bond. If there is any concern that people will not show up for their hearing, they are not offered this route.
Instead, they will be given the choice between cash bail or a surety bond, depending on their financial situation. (Assuming that we’re not dealing with a case where bail is not an option). Cash bail is paid to the court and will be held with the county until the date of the hearing. As long as everything goes as planned and the defendant doesn’t attempt to flee, the cash will be returned at the end of the case, minus a 5% fee paid to the county. This is typically used for bonds up to $10,000.
Surety bonds are for larger bail amounts in most cases, or for those who may not have the cash to pay the bail upfront. In this instance, you would contact a bail bonds company and provide collateral, documentation, and other necessary resources and information so that the bondsman ensures the person shows up for court. All of the rogue bounty hunting aside, if you’ve ever seen bits and pieces of the A&E show “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” you have likely seen a case or two where someone goes AWOL and risks costing the bail bond company money—hence the hunt that ensues.
Bear in mind that most bondsmen aren’t going to work in this flashy, outlaw style. Again, TV is TV for a reason. What they don’t show on TV is all the paperwork and behind-the-scenes office work that goes into putting a person on bond when they are booked in jail.
Choose the Right Bail Bond Company to Get the Best Outcome
Of course, all of this information is based on the assumption that you’ve hired the best Fort Worth bail bonds company for the job. Having the right people on your side will make everything simpler and often save you a lot of stress. If you or your loved one has been arrested and you need help bailing them out of jail, call a professional bail bonds team today. That way, you can focus on your family and the case, instead of where you’re going to come up with the cash for bail.