Machine Bypasses Bail Bondsmen
Machine Bypasses Bail Bondsmen
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ Who needs a bail bondsman to get out of
jail? Starting this week, Santa Clara County will offer some suspects
an interactive kiosk where they can use a credit card to get out of
the slammer within minutes of being booked. It's like an automatic teller machine, but instead of dispensing
cash it grants instant access out of jail. The heaviest use is expected from those arrested for relatively
minor crimes with bails under $5,000 _ well within the limit many
people carry on their credit cards. Crimes will include vandalism,
assault, drunken driving and drug possession. Defendants get the basic bail amount back from the county once
the case is resolved _ as long as they show up in court. If they
use a bail bond agent or the kiosk, they pay a 10 percent
nonrefundable fee. County officials said the bail kiosks will reduce taxpayer costs
and jail overcrowding. Bail bondsmen hate the idea, claiming the service is illegal
because it's not state-licensed, like they must be. They also
complain the it's unfair competition. ``The first time I heard about this was last week, and I was
flabbergasted,'' said Ted Wallace, president of the Santa Clara
County Professional Bail Association. ``We're definitely
investigating our legal options.'' Judicial Solutions, the company that operates the kiosk, said it
doesn't need a license because it doesn't put up money for
defendants, just enables them to tap into their own credit lines. ``It's a fairly political product because the bail industry has
had it to themselves for 240 years,'' said John Bergmann, president
of Judicial Solutions. ``But we're definitely not bailing out O.J.
Simpson; we're taking the crumbs.'' San Luis Obispo, whose jail population of 500 inmates is about
one-tenth the size of Santa Clara County's, has had a kiosk for
four months. It is used mostly to post small bail amounts, but bail
bond agents there also are upset. ``We're prohibited by state law from advertising in the jails,
yet there is this kiosk in the lobby that every 15 minutes or so
announces that you can use it to post bail,'' said Todd Dolezal, an
agent with San Luis Bail Bonds.
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Thanks Tim and Anna!
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