Nobody plans on getting arrested, but it does happen. In fact, thousands of people are arrested in the state of California every year. The process of getting arrested isn’t only highly taxing for the individual getting arrested, it is also extremely stressful for the friends and family of the arrestee. Often, the family of the person being arrested feels powerless, and feels as if there is nothing they can do to assist their family member. The family wants to help in any way they can, but the bail process appears overwhelming and impossible to navigate for someone that doesn’t have experience dealing with the system. Fortunately, there is a convenient solution available to those looking to help a friend or family member through the California bail system. Our company, Bail Bonds, can walk you through the bail bonds process. As the premier bail bond agency operating in the Riverside, CA area, we only employ highly-qualified and licensed bail bonds agents who possess years of experience handling bail bonds. Call 323-579-1415 today to speak with one of our top-notch agents, who would be glad to answer any questions you might have about the process.
Arrest Process
If police suspect you of breaking the law, they may elect to place you under arrest if they believe there exists “probable cause” for the arrest. After being arrested, a person is transported to the closest jail available, which will usually be the Robert Presley Detention Center for those arrested in Riverside. After arriving at the detention center, you will undergo a process that is referred to as “booking.” This process involves the police asking you for basic personal information, including your D.O.B. and address. The officers at the detention center will then make a copy of your fingerprints and take a series of pictures, colloquially known as a mugshot. Depending on the nature of the arrest, you may be required to participate in what is called a line-up, with other people suspected of the same crime, or provide the officers with a sample of your handwriting style. Booking usually does not take longer than two hours.
After being booked, your case will be referred to the prosecutor’s office, with this person deciding what charges will be filed in court against you, or if no charges will be filed. Due to the fact that every person is granted the constitutional entitlement to a quick trial, the prosecutor is supposed to file charges relatively quickly, but this does not always happen. However, you are not by any means legally required to remain in jail until you are officially charged with a crime or until the date of your trial. Through bail, you can be expediently released from jail and allowed to go about your business, with an agreement that you will to return to court for your trial.
What is Bail?
Bail is an amount of money that a person is required to post with your local court to be released from jail following an arrest. The amount of cash posted in bail will be repaid in full, as long as the person being released from a county jail appears at their court date. So bail isn’t intended as a punishment, but instead as a way of ensuring the person released from a jail will actually show up to their court hearing. Bail isn’t guaranteed for everyone, in fact a judge can elect to not grant bail under certain conditions. If a judge believes a person who was arrested is highly likely to commit further criminal acts if released, or believes the person being arrested is likely to bolt from the area or even the country, then the judge could choose to deny bail. The judge can also choose to release an arrested person through what is called a Release on Own Recognizance, via which the defendant signs a document promising to return to court for further legal proceedings, but this form of release is rare and only granted in special circumstances.
The amount of money required to post bail changes depending on the crime associated with the arrest, with more serious crimes requiring higher amounts of bail. The judge is given discretion when deciding exactly how much your bail will be, and will consider your criminal history, ties to the community, as well as the facts of your individual case before making a decision. However, while the judge is given discretion, the amount of money owed for bail is generally determined by a bail schedule. A bail schedule outlines the amount required for bail based on the severity of different categories of crimes. The superior court of each county in California has a unique bail schedule, with Riverside County determining its own individual bail schedule each year. Some examples include $30,000 in bail for possession of less than one ounce of illicit substances with an intent to sell, and $5,000 for brandishing a firearm. The full list is too long to summarize on this page, for the complete bail schedule for Riverside County, click here.
It is permitted for bail be paid via cash bail, through which the total amount is paid with the court’s clerk or with the agency responsible for the arrest. It can also be paid via a property bond, which allows one to post bond by placing a risky lien on a valuable piece of property. However, since most people aren’t able to afford to post a cash bail, or don’t think it’s a good idea to put a lien against an important piece of personal property, it is more common for bail to be posted through what is referred to as a bail bond.
Bail Bond Basics
Most people opt to post bail through a bail bond. While a cash bond may appear as the most simple and direct way of getting someone released from jail, it is truly not wise to bankrupt yourself to pay a cash bond. A bail bond achieves the same end-result as a cash bond, at a much lower price. Even if you are able to submit enough cash to cover a bail bond, this money would almost certainly be better spent on a legal defense team that can represent the accused individual in court and provide them with the best legal representation possible. There are good reasons why bail bonds are the most common method of posting bail in the US.
In essence, a bail bond acts as a signed contract between a bail bond agent, and a jailed person and/or their family. Through this contract, you pay the bail bond company a fraction of the full bail amount, and in return the bail bond agent pays the complete amount of bail money owed. According to California law, the maximum percentage a bail bond service can require you to pay is ten percent of the full bail amount, to prevent you from being ripped off by an unfair price. As part of this contract, you make a promise that you will appear in court on the date ordered, and that you will follow any rules made by the judge as a condition of your release. If you fail to make an appearance in court, the bail bond agent is required to forfeit the full bail amount, so this agent is highly driven to make sure you appear in court as promised. Usually, to cover for the possibility that you may not show up to your court hearing, a bail bond agent will make you post collateral. This is usually something such as a car, a house, or anything else you own that is valuable enough to cover the total bail amount. The entire bail bond process is typically quick, the process of obtaining a bail bond usually only takes up about 20 minutes of time. After the bail bond is acquired, it typically takes somewhere between 1 to 4 hours for the suspect to actually be released from jail.
Bail Bond Process
The first step in obtaining a bail bond is to contact a professional bail bondsman. To speak with a skilled bail bond agent with experience in Riverside County, call 323-579-1415. A bail bond can be acquired by the accused person themselves, but it is more common for someone outside of jail to obtain the bail bond on their behalf. The bondsmen will ask you for specific information about the crime in question and for personal information about the inmate, to draw up a bail application and contract. After this contract is properly filled out both by the bail bondsmen and by his/her client, payment must be made to the bail bond agent. This payment represents a percentage of the full bail amount, no more than 10%, as explained in the paragraph above. So, for a bail set at $40,000, a bail bond will cost no more than $4,000. Also, this contract may include collateral, which requires the person obtaining the bail bond to place something on the contract that can be seized by the bail bonds agency in the event that the accused person doesn’t show up for their court date.
After this payment has been processed, the bail bondsman will be dispatched to jail, to actually post the bond to free the incarcerated person from county jail. Note, in the state of California bonds are allowed to be posted at jails any time of the day or night, seven days a week, so never feel as if you have to wait before contacting a bond agent. After the bail bondsman pays the bail amount, the incarcerated person will be released shortly thereafter, usually in a couple of hours if the forms have been properly completed.
After the person is released from jail as a result of the bail payment, they are required to follow all of the conditions laid out by a judge, and most importantly, to show up to court on the assigned date. If this person does not appear, then the company will sell the collateral property to recuperate their losses. If no collateral was posted, as collateral is not always posted as part of a bail bond agreement, then a professional bounty hunter may be employed to apprehend the defendant and return them to the authorities in Riverside. The bounty hunter is only given a certain amount of time, usually a number of weeks, before the bail bond company can no longer get back the bail money they posted.
Services Provided by Bail Bonds Company
If you are looking to get someone released from jail, you shouldn’t hesitate to contact us immediately, to get a person out of jail as quickly as possible. Our agents are not only efficient and speedy, they are also known for their discretion. Bail Bonds assures you that your bail bond will be 100% private, and that any information given to us will be secure.
We offer the lowest fees in the business, and we provide a number of payment choices to make the bail bond process as affordable as possible. We provide payment plans and credit card options that can be molded to fit anyone’s budget. Bail Bonds promises to work with you throughout the process to make sure your bail bond is as low-cost and stress free as possible. Additionally, Bail Bonds even offers special 1% bail bonds for those people who meet the requirements. To be eligible for this low rate, you must be able to post collateral, such as a vehicle, stocks, or jewelry, the value of which constitutes at least 150% of the total value of bail amount. The remaining 9% still must be paid back at a later time, but this can be done over a longer period of time through payment plans that make the process much more affordable.
Information for Riverside Jail and Court
Riverside Superior Court
4050 Main St
Riverside, CA 92501
951-955-1043
http://www.riverside.courts.ca.gov/
Robert Presley Detention Center
4000 Orange Street
Riverside, CA 92501
951-955-4500
http://www.riversidesheriff.org/corrections/visit-presley.asp
Find a Bail Bonds Near Me Today
If you’re looking to acquire a release for someone currently under arrest, call 323-579-1415 right away. Our bail bond representatives located in Riverside County are ready to help you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are usually able to get people released within a matter of hours, at a low cost to you and your family.
