The process involved with being put under arrest is straining for the anyone being booked into prison, and also for those people close to them. After someone is arrested, it’s often almost impossible to get in communication with him/her and figure out exactly what is going on. Family members aim to do what they are able, to help the individual under arrest, and ideally work to get the individual released from jail. However, they oftentimes find this task to be impossible, as the process required to gain someone’s release from prison is complicated and difficult to figure out for those without prior experience. Thankfully, if you feel unexperienced and unable to decipher this complex system, you should not feel like you have to go through this process by yourself, as we at Bail Bonds are always available to help those who need assistance gaining someone’s release from jail. Our qualified bail bondsmen in Santa Ana can help you get someone you care about released from county jail in a number of hours, and we operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 323-579-1415 to have an over-the-phone conversation with our staff, who can supply answers for any inquiries you have about bail bonds.
If you’re looking for some background information on bail bonds and the accompanying procedure, look no further. Here is a step-by-step guide to the process, leading up to the obtainment of a bail bond.
How it Works: Getting Arrested
When someone is put under arrest in California, one must go through a process that every person arrested in the state must complete. After this person is taken into custody by a law enforcement agent, they will either be taken straight to the nearest jail, or the closest police station or sheriff’s office. After being taken to one of these locations, the individual under arrest will go through a procedure known as booking. Booking is an administrative process that must be completed so the legal system can make a record of your arrest. As part of booking, your photograph and fingerprints will be taken, and a background check will be conducted to make sure the arrested individual doesn’t have a warrant on him/her. Oftentimes, the person under arrest will be asked to give a statement as part of the booking procedure, although this isn’t required by law. Also, the suspect’s belongings are seized and placed in a secure location at the beginning of the booking procedure, meaning the suspect can’t communicate with anyone while the booking is still ongoing.
After the booking procedure is fully completed, which can take anywhere from 1 hour to a number of hours depending on the busyness of the jail/polices station, the case is forwarded to the office of the county prosecutor. The prosecutor’s office then makes a decision on whether to file criminal charges. This decision technically should be made within a couple of days, but the prosecutor’s office in Santa Ana is often inundated with cases, and unable to make a decision for weeks or months. However, bail lets you get released from county jail before this verdict is made.
What is Bail, and How Does It Work?
After your booking process has been completed, a panel of judges will make a decision on the amount of money you must post in bail. Bail is a specific number of dollars someone must post for a release to be granted by the legal system. Bail is not a permanent payment made to the court system, rather the money one posts in bail does not belong indefinitely to the courts, and will be given back to whomever posted the bail, after the suspect shows up to court. Bail is therefore not designed as a supplementary punishment for an offense, but alternatively as a means of incentivizing a person to go to his/her day in court. A bail amount also may be set with certain accompanying conditions. For example, the suspect being released might be required to check in regularly with a probation office, restrict their travel, or refrain from contacting a specific person or group of people. Note, a person is given a notification of his/her day in court at the time when he/she is released from prison, a date which is usually weeks or months after the date of release. Also, it is important to know that the right to bail is not unconditional, and that the panel of judges may make the decision to not allow bail. Usually, a panel of judges will only decide to deny someone bail if they believe that person poses a threat to the community if released, or if they believe that the suspect may flee and never go to their assigned court date.
The exact dollar amount that must be posted in bail is based on the classification of the crime one is charged with. The panel of judges are allowed to use their own discretion when making a choice on a bail dollar amount, but generally they must adhere to the bail dollar amounts found in what is called a bail schedule. A bail schedule is a document that lists out how much someone is legally obligated to post in bail in order for a release to be obtained. As a rule of thumb, the more violent and/or severe the crime somebody is accused of committing, the more money one is required to post in bail. Interestingly, there is no bail schedule that lays out bail amounts required for all of California, instead each individual county maintains its own distinct bail schedule. Orange County, which encompasses Santa Ana, requires $15,000 to be posted in bail when someone is accused of violation of a protective order, and $50,000 for operating an illicit chop shop. For a copy of the entire bail schedule use by Orange County, tap here.
There are three main methods of posting bail in California. One method is cash bail, the simplest of all three options, via which you pay the total bail amount to obtain a release. This particular option is not used in the majority of cases, as the bail required for most crimes involves large amounts of money, which the average person does not have available in cash. A second method is posting bail with a property bond, but this method also isn’t used too often, as most feel wary of placing a bond on a vital item of property. The most used method of posting bail is a bail bond, with roughly $14 billion being posted in bail through bail bonds nationwide each year.
How Bail Bonds Work
Bail bonds serve as the single most popular method used by people to post bails in California as well as in the entire US. This is because a bail bond allows you to obtain a release without spending an excessive amount of money or taking on significant financial risk. Also, a bail bond simplifies the bail process for most people, as the bail bond company takes on the burden of handling the complicated paperwork and other components of the bail procedure. There exist different kinds of bail bonds, such as immigrant bail bonds for non-US citizens, and weapons bail bonds for people arrested for a weapons violation.
Bail bonds are contracts made between the person acquiring the bail bond and the company handling the bail bond. Via this agreement, the agency agrees to send an agent to the appropriate location for the purpose of posting the whole amount of money required in bail. For people located in Santa Ana, this location will usually be the Intake Release Center or the Theo Lacy Facility. In return, the person acquiring the bail bond consents to pay for a portion of the whole bail amount, and agrees to make sure the suspect will make an appearance in the proper court on an assigned date. Typically, the portion of the entire bail amount owed to the company is 10%, which is the maximum percentage permitted by California law. Since the company paying the full amount in bail will permanently lose the money if the suspect doesn’t make an appearance in court, they’re motivated to only accept clients whom they believe will actually go to court. For this particular reason, the agency may necessitate you to provide collateral, which is an item of property that can be seized by the agency if the suspect doesn’t make it to court.
Typically, the bail bonds process begins with the suspect. After completing the booking process described above, a suspect will be allowed to make a phone call. While occasionally a suspect will make a call directly to an agency to make a bail bond arrangement, it’s more typical for a suspect to contact a family member or other person and ask them to obtain a bail bond for him/her. The 1st step this family member or other person must take is to reach out to an able bail bondsman; to reach the best bondsmen in Santa Ana call 323-579-1415. This bail bondsman will request specific info about the suspect and about the conditions of their arrest, including the suspect’s name, date of birth, address, place of employment, and more. This info is needed to create the bail bond contract. The bail bondsmen will then conduct a quick background check to make an assessment on whether or not this person is likely to make an appearance in court when required. If the assessment is positive, then the bail bond contract will be completed, and the bail bondsman will request payment for a portion of the whole bail, as discussed above. The bail bondsmen may also obligate you to put up collateral depending on the alleged crime.
After the payment is processed and any required collateral has been arranged, the licensed bail agent will travel to the specific location where bail bonds are accepted. This licensed agent will then post the whole bail amount, and complete the paperwork necessary to obtain the release of the suspect. The Intake Release Center is open 24 hours a day, and Bail Bonds is open 24/7 as well, so it is never too late in the day for you to call us and for a bondsman to post your bail.
Full Description of Services Available at Bail Bonds
Bail Bonds is the top-rated bail bonds business in the Santa Ana area. We employ fully licensed bondsmen with tons of experience dealing with the bond system in Santa Ana. Also, our agents with Bail Bonds are focused on security and confidentiality, and we can confidently assure our clients that your identity and personal info will be private and secure.
Bail Bonds offers the lowest prices in the industry, and has a reputation for top-rate customer service. For criminal cases that last longer than one year, many bail bond companies demand that you pay a yearly premium, but at Bail Bonds we require no annual premium payment. We are very clear about our payment requirements, and we never will hit you with hidden fees. Additionally, we offer a 1% bond rate for those people who qualify, which means you only must pay 1 percent of the whole bail amount. This great deal is available to those who meet all of the general requirements, and are able to provide collateral that covers 150 percent of the complete bail amount, to cover the agency in the event that the suspect doesn’t make an appearance for their court date.
Jails and County Courts in Santa Ana
Central Jail (Orange County)
550 North Flower Street
Santa Ana, California 92703
Phone: 714-647-4666
Orange County Superior Court
700 West Civic Center Drive
Santa Ana, California 92701
Phone: 657-622-8459
Get in Touch with a Santa Ana Bail Bond Near Me
If you’re searching for a bail bondsman to help you acquire a bail bond, look no further and call Bail Bonds, at 323-579-1415. We are recognized nationwide for our ability to obtain releases from jail in a quick and expedient manner, and for our fair pricing. We will supply you with a complimentary consultation over the phone, and answer your questions about the bail bond proces
