THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996 TAG: 9607100003
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 43 lines
Bail bondsmen have an unenviable job - yet a necessary one in our justice system. By posting bonds for those charged with crimes, bail bondsmen enable the accused to stay out of jail, perhaps on the job, while they await trial.
Yet two recent judicial studies of Norfolk's bail system show unacceptable sloppiness by both courts and bail bondsmen that has allowed some bondsmen to bond out many more defendants than they could cover with their collateral.
It is customary to pay a bail bondsman 10 percent of the total bail. In return, the bondsman posts collateral, promising the court that the defendant will appear on the appointed day. If the accused fails to appear, the bondsman must pay the full amount of the bail. After the bill is paid, the bondsmen hire bounty hunters to track down the missing defendants.
An unsavory and arcane system by any measure. It's made worse by bondsmen who post more bonds than their collateral would allow. That practice makes an already risky business doubly so. If a bondsman has posted too many bonds and a number of defendants do not appear, the bondsman may have to default on the bonds, leaving the court stuck for the money.
Yet bail bondsmen are an integral part of the system. Without them, defendants would spend long months in jail awaiting trial. Already overcrowded jails would be filled far beyond capacity.
The judicial reviews spread the blame between the bondsmen, the courts and the judges. Poor record keeping by all parties seems to be the culprit.
This does not mean the problem is confined to Norfolk. Unfortunately, other cities have not investigated their bondsmen, but we suggest they do so. It is imperative that the courts, and all who work in and with them, conduct themselves in a manner above reproach if they want others to respect the law and the judicial system.
Norfolk's judges have now adopted new rules which will force them to more closely oversee the city's 52 bail bondsmen. This is a wise move. Even Norfolk's Vice Mayor Herbert M. Collins Sr. thinks so, and he should know. In 1988 Collins was suspended as a bail bondsman because his company defaulted on 32 bonds. Some of his City Council wages are being garnished to pay off his debt.
In a recent news story, Collins correctly said the courts had to take action to crack down on bondsman to ``protect the commonwealth.'' by CNB