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So, Dog is supposed to just hand these people bail money and HOPE they show up for court? And when they inevitably do NOT show up for court, just take the financial loss in stride? C'mon. Be serious. He's running a business.
No.
Dog never posted bail for Luster.
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I hate the concept of bail bondsmen. I hate the idea that they are needed because of the system. They are needed because of the nature of the system in the US. However, that won't stop me looking on them with the same kind of contempt that I do bailiffs.
It's more me hating the nature of a system that requires bondsmen.
Your rights in the Uk.
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Bail
Bail from the Police Station
Once you have been charged with an offence, the police must release you on bail unless the custody officer reasonably believes that:
* There is doubt about your name or address;
* Detention is necessary to protect you or somebody else; or
* You will fail to attend court or interfere with witnesses or the administration of justice.
The police can attach conditions to your bail, such as living at a fixed address, reporting to a local police station, a curfew, avoiding named people or places, or providing a financial guarantee for your attendance at court.
If you fail to attend court without reasonable excuse, you commit a separate offence under the Bail Act 1976. If you break any of the conditions of your bail, you can be arrested and brought in custody to the next sitting of the local Magistrates' Court, who may then take away your bail.
Bail from the Court
If you are on police bail with conditions, you can apply to the Magistrates’ Court to vary the conditions. If the police have kept you in custody, they must bring you to the next sitting of the local Magistrates' Court, which then takes any decisions about bail if your case continues after the first hearing. The court can grant bail with or without conditions, or remand you in custody.
Before conviction, you have a right to be granted bail unless certain exceptions apply. The most significant of these are where the court finds that there are substantial grounds for believing you may do one or more of the following:
* Fail to attend at court.
* Commit further offences.
* Interfere with witnesses
The factors the court will consider in deciding this include:
* The charge
* The evidence
* Your own background (including your job and family)
* Any previous convictions you have
* Whether you have previously absconded when on bail.
If the court has concerns on these grounds, it can attach conditions to your bail, including:
* Residence at a bail hostel
* Payment of a cash security into court, or;
* Providing a surety.
A surety is someone who knows you personally and offers the court a sum of money to guarantee you will attend court when required. He or she does not have to pay the money into court, but has to show that it is available. If you then do not turn up at court on time, the surety may have to pay the money or even go to prison if unable to do so. Your surety will have to attend the court or police station in person to sign as surety. You will not be released from custody yourself until he or she has done so.
The surety should not have a criminal record, and should provide proof that the necessary funds are available e.g. a bank statement or building society book. It is an offence to lend someone money to enable him or her to stand surety.
If you are charged with an offence which does not carry a possible sentence of imprisonment, the court can normally only refuse bail if you have failed to attend in the past and it believes you would do so again.
Where conditions are attached to your bail, or bail is refused, the court must state its reasons for doing so. In cases of rape or homicide, the court must also state reasons if it decides to grant bail.
If you are refused bail at your first hearing, you can apply again at the second hearing of your case, or if there is a change in your circumstances relating to bail.
If the Magistrates’ Court refuses your application for bail or imposes conditions that you are unhappy with or cannot meet, you can appeal to a Crown Court judge even if your case can only be heard in the Magistrates’ Court.
In serious cases, the prosecution can appeal to the Crown Court judge against the granting of bail by the magistrates, although this is unusual.
If you are under 17 when bail is refused, you will not be remanded straight to custody, but will be accommodated by the local authority, which may place you with your family, in a children’s home, or apply to the court to place you in secure accommodation.
See also THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
If you are refused bail and are remanded in custody, custody time limits will apply to your case. Once the custody time limit has expired the court must release you on bail unless the prosecution has obtained an extension from the court beforehand. The limits are:
* 56 days for Magistrates’ Court trial
* 70 days for committal to the Crown Court
* 112 days from committal to Crown Court trial
To extend these limits, the prosecution has to justify the time they are taking to bring your case to trial.
Most of the people Dog deals with, in the UK, would just be released with basic bail conditions. It's not like his agency is dealing with major criminals. His company makes money off the poor. It’s necessary in a system that is deeply flawed.
