Criminal Justice System is ripe for change to improve appearance rate and reduce crime.

The criminal justice system in Oregon, with respect to the rate of appearance in court by those defendants released on a ten percent deposit bond, has awoken to the need for change. Irrespective of the multitude of agencies and groups who feed at the trough of the ten percent deposit money, there are many who work within the system who have become fed up with the failure to appear rate and recidivism rate of those released from jail on unsecured bonds.

Every time a defendant fails to appear for court, it costs that county money. Each scheduled hearing requires the attendance of a judge, court clerk, prosecutor, defense counsel and bailiff, all of whom are being paid to be there. When a defendant fails to appear for court it creates a significant fiscal burden on the county.

The commercial bail industry can help with this problem as licensed bail agents maintain an excellent appearance rate for their clients and will retrieve every defendant who fails to appear for court or risk paying the full bond amount.

Last week the commercial bail industry held its third working group meeting in Salem, Oregon on a sunny day where the cherry trees lining the capitol plaza were at their peak. Included in the working group were representatives from various agencies within the Oregon criminal justice community (prosecutor's office, public defender's office, department of insurance, etc.) to address any issues which may impact their department or agency should commercial bail bonds be reinstated in Oregon.

There continues to be support for the return of commercial bail, both in the legislature and within the various agencies. Commercial bail would not replace the ten percent deposit program but instead would be an additional release option for judges. Defendants who would normally languish in jail for lack of having the full ten percent deposit would be eligible for release on a bail bond where a bail agent might agree to payment terms. Additionally, those defendants charged with a Measure 11 crime (crimes carrying a mandatory minimum sentence) might be granted release on a bail bond where, presently, judges are unwilling to grant bail due to the lack of a sufficient guarantee of appearance.
Commercial bail has been superbly represented by Paul Romain of the Romain Group and Jim Gardner. These advocates of commercial bail are well respected at the state capitol. They have done their homework and have done a fine job educating legislators on the merits of commercial bail and the positive impact our industry can have on the appearance rate in Oregon.

There is more work to be done on this effort and with hard work and, a little bit of luck, commercial bail will return to Oregon, offering judges a viable release alternative to ensure defendants are returning to court.

Thanks to Mike Whitlock
Americian Surety Company for this Info.