October 15, 2007

How do you find your business to be surviving this year? Is it proving to be a good year for surety bail or is it becoming harder and harder to make a living because judges are setting ROR or 10% bonds to purportedly solve the jail overcrowding issue?

The above was a part of the focus for our Bail USA annual convention held this year in Savannah, Georgia which was a truly memorable experience. Some comments we heard were as follows: “Greatest convention ever – full of useful information” “WOW we feel so refreshed, energized and ready to go” “The annual meeting was very impressive, the topics and speakers were just fantastic. It was a learning experience”.

This year’s speakers at our convention focused on pretrial release and jail overcrowding. Our speakers were the best starting with the Honorable Judge Nancy Russo of Cleveland, Ohio. She started her presentation by putting on a sweatshirt that stated I LOVE MY BAIL AGENTS. Brian Shipwash, the Clerk of Court from Davidson County, North Carolina and Dennis Williams from Escambia County, Florida did a marvelous job of beginning the process to educate us about the revolving door of pretrial and jail overcrowding. Our job cannot stop with the words spoken at the convention - my new mission for 2008 is to put together a strong group of people to help us stop the invasion of easy bail. Look for me to be mailing you more information on these subjects. We not only have to stop the revolving door, we must educate the judicial system as to the truth about bail – and the truth is that surety bail is the most effective form of release for defendants awaiting trial.

On October 8, 2007 it was announced that Bail USA and AboutBail.com have created an online partnership. We believe that internet exposure is crucial for bail agents. Because many don’t have the necessary resources to explore this important market, Bail USA is providing to our bail agents an effective way to market themselves on the Internet. Each contracted bail agent with our company receives a listing in their coverage area on AboutBail.com. The bail agents are then able to promote and differentiate their brands with a profile page that lists their contact information, logo and company description. In other words, Bail USA is serving our bail agents by providing them free exposure to the internet which can be referred to as the yellow pages of the world-wide-web! Bail USA and its bail agents will also be given direct access to AboutBail.com BailEngine software to help us manage critical business processes. There will be more information to follow on this exciting project.

Looking forward …

As hard as it is to believe 2007 is almost history, we need to begin looking at 2008 and creating the contacts and education to meet my mission for this year. To do this I need your help, do you find that surety bail has decreased nationwide? Is this because defendants are being released on alternative types of bail? Have you checked on the failure to appear rate on other types of release? Think about the facts, courts are releasing inmates on pretrial bonds or 10% bonds because they are being told it will solve their overcrowding problem or because it puts money in the counties coffers, in that case we need to follow the money. With either type of bail we need to create statistics.

I feel it is unacceptable to target a problem without suggesting a solution. By the time the statistics are compiled I want to have on board a prominent member of the legal community to speak to the Judicial System in your area about the benefit of surety bail.

If you have a problem in your area please contact me at once so that I can begin the process to obtain the necessary statistics. Keep in touch with your government officials, do not allow pretrial to sneak into your county without an attempt to have the people in control listen to what surety bail can do for them when it is run correctly. I realize we have a vested interest in the continuance of surety bail, but it happens to be the system we all believe in. Don’t give up without a fight.

As always, we at Bail USA are here to help ensure your success.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Burns
President & CEO
Bail USA Inc.