Tagged: bail bond business

New Jersey Overhauls Its Bail System

Effective January 1, 2017, New Jersey began implementing its newly revised bail system (P.L. 2014, Ch. 31 known as the “Bail Reform Law”).  As judges do under the Federal Bail Reform Act, New Jersey judges will now focus on whether an accused presents a significant flight risk, is threat to public safety, or both when deciding whether to detain the accused while awaiting trial.

A study by the Drug Policy Alliance in New Jersey, released in 2013, found that 39 percent of inmates were eligible to be released on bail, but that many could not meet amounts as low as $2,500.

The new system, of course, is not without controversy. While striving to achieve fairness and alleviate the overloaded system, many (particularly those in the bail bond business) rally against it stating that dangerous offenders are released out on the streets. But “judicial officials reject the idea that dangerous criminals are flooding communities.”

Related Readings:

Bail Bonds and Bounty Hunters

New York, like most of the United States, continues to permit the use of bail bonds-persons to post collateral for the release of criminal defendants. The rest of the world either prohibits this practice or takes an extremely dim view of it. See, Adam Liptak, Illegal Globally, Bail for Profit Remains in U.S., New York Times (Jan. 29, 2008). 

Here is an interesting portrait of what today’s bounty hunters actually look like. Criminal Justice Degree Hub* recently published What Bounty Hunters Look Like Today.

Related Reading:

*Opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not reflect the position of the Pace Criminal Justice Institute or its Board of Advisors.