Loved One Been Arrested? 3 Things You Need To Know About Bail

If someone you love has been arrested and charged with a crime, you're going to need to arrange for bail as quickly as possible. Without bail, your loved one will have to stay in jail until trial. If this is your first time being involved with the criminal courts, you may not understand how bail works. Here are four things that will help understand how bail works.

What Exactly Is Bail?

When a person is arrested and charged with a crime, they are placed in jail. Once they're arraigned, the judge will set bail. Bail is an amount of money that a person must pay before they're allowed to leave police custody. The severity of the crime and a person's criminal history will determine how much bail is required. Bail is used as a way of ensuring that a person will not run from the law once they've been released. Once you know how much your loved one's bail is, you'll be able to arrange their release.

What If You Can't Afford The Full Bail Amount?

If you can't afford to pay the full bail amount, you'll need to arrange a bail bond for your loved one. You'll need to find a bail bond agent in your area. In most cases, you'll need to make a cash payment of about 10% of the total bail amount. The bail bondsman may then require that you provide the additional 90% through collateral in the form of real or personal property. The bail bondsman will hold onto the property until your loved ones case is completed. It's important to note that your cash payment will not be returned. The bail bondsman will keep that as payment for their services. Your personal or real property will be returned after your loved ones trial is completed.

Are There Rules Attached To The Bail Bond?

When your loved one is released on bail, they will have certain rules that they must obey. Some of those rules include:

• Obeying all laws while out on bail
• Attending all court dates
• Notifying the court whenever they leave the area
• Avoiding any victims that might be involved

If your loved one breaks any of the rules, they may have their bail revoked. If that happens, they will be required to return to police custody. Failure to return to police custody may result in an arrest warrant being issued for your loved one. If bail is revoked, you will lose any real or personal property that you put up as collateral.

Bail bonds allow people the opportunity to get out of jail while their case proceeds through the court system. If your loved one has been arrested, the information provided above will help you understand what you need to know about bail.  For more information, talk to a professional like All Night & Day Bailbonds.