U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Bail Bondsmen and Criminal Courts

NCJ Number
92050
Author(s)
Date Published
January 1983
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Despite frequent criticisms of their activities, bail bondsmen continue to play an important role in the pretrial processing of defendants in most jurisdictions.
Abstract
Bondsmen facilitate the operations of criminal courts, which in turn insure the continued profitability of bondsmen's activities. The durability of bondsmen is analyzed in this article within the context of their symbiotic relationship with criminal courts. An analysis of the factors affecting bondsmen's decisions demonstrates the importance of courts' actions for bondsmen's profitability and suggests that certain 'reform' measures may have unanticipated adverse consequences. (Publisher abstract)

Date Published: January 1, 1983