Getting Your Loved One Out of Jail as Soon as Possible: 3 Pieces of Information You'll Need to Get a Bail Bond

More and more Americans are being exposed to the criminal-justice system on a regular basis. In fact, studies show that approximately one-third of Americans will have been arrested for a crime by the time that they hit 23. In short, there's a good chance that someone you know and love will be arrested sometime in their life. If you get a call from them from jail asking you to bail them out, don't panic. You need to get as much information as possible from them first before you call a bail bondsman. Otherwise, you're simply wasting your time. Here are three pieces of information you'll need.

Personal Information of the Detainee

The bail bondsmen can't do anything unless they know who the detainee is and how they can identify the detainee. If you don't already know, you'll have to ask your friend or family member some personal information that will allow for the bail bondsmen to find them and identify them. In particular, you'll want to provide information like their legal name, birthdate, address, and more.

If you have the detainee's government-issued ID, some bail bondsmen might even ask you to fax over a copy of the ID. This will help them find the detainee  in the system more quickly and gain access to them sooner.

Location and Nature of the Arrest

Knowing where and why the detainee was arrested can help the bail bondsmen determine the best course of action to take. For example, if the detainee was arrested for a felony crime, it might take a while longer for them to be processed through the criminal system. Knowing the location and nature of the arrest is important in filling in the appropriate type of paperwork and getting the process started. Before getting off the phone, you'll want to know specifics.

Try to get an exact address of where the arrest occurred. You should also consider asking for some details regarding the nature of the arrest. If the detainee has previously been arrested for the same crime, you might want to let the bail bondsmen know because their having that information might help expedite the process.

Amount of the Total Bail and Other Payment Information

Most of the time, you'll want to call the bail bondsmen only after you know what the amount of the total bail has been set at. However, if you don't, you can still call a bail bondsmen and have them figure that part out for you. If bail has not been set yet, you can still contact a bail company so that they can handle the case as soon as bail is set.

Before getting off the phone, determine who will be paying the premium for the bail bond. If the detainee is going to pay for it, you'll need to figure out how they're paying for it and the type of payment information you need to gather or find before calling a bail bondsperson. On the other hand, if you're paying for the bail bond, you'll need to know what you can afford based on your financial situation and go from there.

Conclusion

When you get a call from jail from a loved one asking to be bailed out, don't immediately hang up and call a bail bondsman. You definitely need to stay on the line a bit longer in order to gather the information you need and work out the specifics. In particular, you'll want to determine what bail is set at and who is going to be paying for it. If you don't have all the information handy when you're calling a bail bondsman, you're only wasting your own time, as you'll have to call the detainee again in order to gather the information that is needed. 

For more information, you could look here or elsewhere online.

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