US Jail to Fire LASERS at Violent Prisoners

It’s a non-lethal laser as you probably guessed, but nonetheless, the Assault Intervention Device (measuring 2.2m in height) causes some serious heat when shot at an escapee or fighty prisoner.

From this week, the Pitchess Detention Center will be using it to scare 65 of its 3,700 prisoners, mounting it high up a dormitory wall as an ominous warning against bad behaviour. It’s activated by a joystick, with the laser beam more the size of a CD than a pinpoint like normal lasers.

Any human rights readers up in arms at this news will be pleased to know that prison wardens actually tested the laser on themselves, with Commander Bob Osborne commenting that it’s like “opening an oven door and feeling that blast of hot air, except instead of being all over me, it’s more focused.”

Tags: bail, crime, criminal, jail, Los Angeles County Jail

Apparently this may come to pass.

I have a client who had a traffic ticket.  He was given a fine by the Court and told to pay it by a certain date.  On that date, he asked for an extension.  On the extension date, he asked for another extension.  On the date of the extension’s extension, he did not bring the money to pay his fine.  The Judge, clearly upset, took him into custody and set bail at $25,000.

When we contacted the Los Angeles County Jail to get the bail information, they informed us there was an INS hold on him.  I contacted the family and found out that he was having issues with his visa.  He already had an attorney and had a hearing date set for a few weeks down the road.

He now sits in the County Jail, unable to make bail, waiting to see if he gets deported.  Strange, but true.

Tags: bail, bail agent, bail bonds, jail, Los Angeles County Jail

Another interesting night at the office. Two phone calls can put a lot of levity in your life.

The first call was from an indemnitor who did not appreciate getting a bill in the mail. It has been eight months since the defendant was bailed out of jail. In that time he has made sputtering, at best, payments. She said she only paid the ‘down payment’ and the defendant had a personal guarantee with her that he would pay the premium. I asked if she remebered signing the bail agreement. She stated that it didn’t matter, he had told her he was paying. I guess she missed the class that went over the signing of contracts and personal liability for failure to honor contracts. She told me she guessed that she would just have to go spend her day in court and that we should ‘do what we have to do’. I guess we will let the judge decide….

The next call was one that I have never received before. A lady called and said her friend has a boyfriend who has been in and out of jail for three years. He had been arrested recently for a parole violation and was going to be in the Los Angeles County Jail for awhile. She wanted to know if she could have conjugal visits with him if she were to marry him. She didn’t want to marry him (because he’s not a good guy) but wanted to have conjugal visits and figured they needed to be married in order to do so. I told her to skip the wedding, there are no conjugal visits at the County Jail.

As the title says “Los Angeles Bail Bonds …just another day”

Tags: bail, conjugal visits, court, judge, Los Angeles County Jail, parole

Ask most bail agents about their business these days and you’ll find out some sobering news. They are facing laying off hard working people, many of them family members, as they scramble to cut costs during the great recession. They are unable to pay their bills. They face eviction, foreclosure and possibly bankruptcy. Many long time agents (this one included) have never seen anything like this before. The drop-off in business is staggering. Two publications in California have just run stories about this. The Times Herald and the Imperial Valley Press both tell similar stories.
It boils down to this: Our clients have been hit the hardest by this economic downturn. With their homes underwater, many are unable to collateralize or pay for a bond. I read recently that the unemployment rate for the bottom ten percent of taxpayers is an astonishing 30%.
In Los Angeles County, crime is way down. This blows holes in many social theories linking economic hardship to crime. These are indeed strange times we are living through.
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/opinion/ci_14403712
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2010/02/02/local_news/news02.txt

Tags: bail, bail agent, bail bonds, bail bonds los angeles, bail bondsman, crime, crime and poverty, crime is down, criminal, drugs, fugitive, inmates, jail, lawyer, los angeles bail bonds, Los Angeles County Jail, notary public, police, prison, sheriff, SWAT

Bail Bonds and the Super Bowl have a long running connection. Learn more about celebrity and athlete arrests.

Tags: bail, bail agent, bail bonds, crime, criminal, lawyer, los angeles bail bonds, Los Angeles County Jail, monday night football, nationwide bail bonds, police, sheriff, superbowl, warren sapp

A Bail Agent answers two burning questions: “What is your favorite Bail Bonds movie?” and “What is the most realistic Bail Bonds movie?”

Tags: bail, bail agent, bail bonds, bail bonds los angeles, bail bondsman, bounty hunter, bridget fonda, crime, dog the bounty hunter, fugitive, inmates, jackie brown, jail, los angeles bail bonds, Los Angeles County Jail, midnight run, murderer, police, robert de niro, samuel jackson, sheriff, silver screen, steve mcqueen, the hunter

Does this mean criminals will no longer have to sit in dilapidated cells while awaiting bail?

From the AP:

(AP) – 1 day ago

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department is officially being handed the keys to its new headquarters.

Local officials including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and outgoing police Chief William Bratton are scheduled to open the gleaming 10-story, $437 million downtown structure Saturday morning.

The so-called Police Administration Building will replace Parker Center four blocks away. The 1955 facility has outlived its service life and is likely to be demolished.

Voters in 2002 approved a bond measure for new police facilities, and construction began on the new headquarters in 2007.

The new building features a broad glass front police say represents a new era of transparency for a department once resistant to public scrutiny.

Tags: bail, bail agent, bail bonds, bail bonds los angeles, bail bondsman, crime, criminal, fugitive, inmates, jail, los angeles bail bonds, Los Angeles County Jail, nationwide bail bonds, police

OR release practices vary widely by court jurisdiction. Generally the more severe the charge, the less likely OR release is. Checking with the court or a criminal attorney is probably the best way to gauge the chances other than asking the jailers themselves.

A judge is likely to consider a person’s stability in the community and in their employment when setting bail. But you should also know that bails and OR release standards have been raised in domestic dispute cases over the past few years. Some states now even have “mandatory cooling off ” periods in which bail is not immediately granted for these types of cases.

Tags: bail, bail agent, bail bonds, bail bonds los angeles, bail bondsman, bounty hunter, crime, criminal, fugitive, inmates, jail, los angeles bail bonds, Los Angeles County Jail, nationwide bail bonds, sheriff, thief

When an individual is arrested for a crime, the person is typically taken to a local detention facility for booking prior to incarceration in a lock-up station or county jail. Once arrested and booked, the defendant has several options for release pending the conclusion of his or her case.

The Bail system is designed to guarantee the timely appearance of a defendant in court. Bail is also an insurance policy for the state that the defendant will appear to face charges. Further, the legal intent of release on Bail is not to relieve the defendant of obligations except for appearing, it is the retention of control over the defendant to the end that justice might be administered.

Tags: bail, bail agent, bail bonds, bail bonds los angeles, bail bondsman, bounty hunter, crime, criminal, los angeles bail bonds, Los Angeles County Jail, nationwide bail bonds

A bench warrant is issued for the person’s arrest and the person’s name will appear in police bulletins as a fugitive. Although specifics vary depending on the jurisdiction, generally the court also authorizes the Bail Agency arrest authority for the individual as well.

The Bail Agency normally calls the person’s home, work, and other references to try to find the fugitive and convince them to appear. If these efforts are unsuccessful, the Agency may then search and employ apprehension specialists (a.k.a. Bounty Hunters) to arrest the fugitive.

From the perspective of someone who guaranteed the appearance by posting collateral, you want to convince the fugitive to surrender himself to the police or court as soon as possible. Normally, if the fugitive is returned before actual remittance to the state, you can usually get your collateral back. Also, judges tend to get more irritated the longer a fugitive stays at large.

If the fugitive does not surrender and cannot be found by the forfeiture date, the Bail Agency remits the entire bond to the court and proceeds with legal action to seize and liquidate your collateral. By law, the Bail Agency is required to refund any value received in excess of the Bail amount following liquidation.

Tags: bail, bail agent, bail bonds, bail bonds los angeles, bail bondsman, bounty hunter, crime, criminal, fugitive, los angeles bail bonds, Los Angeles County Jail, nationwide bail bonds, police, sheriff