BAIL – How it works, what the term “BAIL JUMPERS” or “SKIPS” are used for, just for those of you just looking at this site but don’t exactly know what bail is, how it works and why we need
“BAIL BONDSMEN” and “BOUNTY HUNTERS”.
“Bail Jumpers” or ‘Skips” are the terms used in the bail bond industry for defendant’s that have not been present to all of their court proceedings, they are also called “most wanted”, but that term does not necessarily mean a “bail jumper” or “skip” everytime it is used.
When a defendant is bailed out of jail, this means that a co-signer for the defendant, has made themselves responsible for the total amount of bond in exchange they pay a small percentage of the total bond. As a co-signer, you are promising that the defendant will go to all of their courts and comply with the system. Another way to look at it is to compare it to an auto loan, when you co-sign for the buyer you make yourself responsible for paying off the price of the car if the buyer does not make the payments for what ever reason. Well, this is almost the same, if the defendant (buyer) does not make the payments, does not comply with the rules for that bail bonds agency or jumps bond (skips on the bail), it usually means he or she did not go their court, then the cosigner is now responsible for the complete amount of the bond, the money due (the bond amount), is due with in a certain amount of time and called a “forfeiture”. Unless the cosigner is going to help find the bail jumper (skip) and they could possibly pay less than the complete amount of bond because the defendant was returned back to the custody of the jail they were bonded out from. Most bail bonds have to charge a fee because by this point the bail bondsmen probably have incurred investigation fees, court fees for paperwork etc, mug shots and quite possibly a bounty hunter is involved by now. Which can be quite an expensive process that will quickly add up to be in the thousands of dollars in a matter of days depending on the size of the bond.
You’re probably wondering why someone would co-sign for a defendant in the first place right? Ok, let’s say your kid, brother, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc., is arrested, especially someone you know and trust who has kids and has to go to work, or other obligations that you think are important… you would want them out of jail right?
Example: my brother, who’s a good guy and has 2 kids and married, went out with his friends after work to shoot pool and have a beer, was stopped at a DUI checkpoint on the way home and got arrested. Well the Court has a pre-determined price list for crimes commited, so in Nevada it could cost about $2,500, and I don’t have $2,500 on Friday at 11:00 p.m. to go pay to the jail in full so I pay a bail bonds (plus it’s cheaper than the jail) who then charges me about $375.00 to go bond him out of jail. So I go pay the $375.00 to the bail bonds and cosign for my brother, therefore, I promise he’ll go to his courts and comply with the court. Usually after the sentencing, the bond is exonerated (means the bond period is now over). I, the cosigner, am now off the bond and am done, providing everything is paid.
But let’s turn it around and say my brother decides he’s not going to court… uh-oh.. we now have a bail jumper (skip), now the bail bonds has to go look for this guy, who is now an offical bail jumper (skip) and return him to the jail that he was bonded out of. If I, the cosigner, help them and they return him before the forefeiture is due, the total was $2,500, I might only have to pay a few fees and get out of paying the complete $2,500. But if I don’t care and don’t help or can’t find him, I now owe the $2,500 plus the fees the bail bonds had to incurr to try to find this guy. That’s the worse case scenario.
Well there it is, an explanation in a nutshell, of course that’s not all the facets, but if you’re still reading this your’re probably not in the “biz” and don’t need to know the rest because it’s industry stuff… and takes moths to learn. We hope you like our Bail Jumper, Bail Skips site and look at it regularly. If you see someone you know, feel free to contact the bail bonds that posted that pic, maybe there’s a reward of some type, so feel free to call that bail bonds and see what they say or maybe your getting someone dangerous off the streets. You never know………….
