• The bail bonding system ensures a person out on bail returns for his court date.justice image by Yangchen Lin from Fotolia.com
  
  The legal system usually doesn’t require people who have been arrested but are awaiting trial to remain in police custody until trial. After a person is arrested and booked on a charge, they may be released from jail if they post bail as long as they’re not deemed a danger to the community or at risk of fleeing before facing justice, In the case where a person doesn’t have the cash assets to make bail, bail bonds companies help cover the bail.
  
  

Bail Versus Bail Bonds

• A judge sets bail shortly after charges are filed. It’s an amount of money held by the court to ensure the person doesn’t flee after being released from jail before he faces charges in court. If the charged person makes his court date, the entirety of his bail is returned to him. If he isn’t present at trial, he forfeits it. In the case where bail amounts exceed a person’s means, bail bond companies step in to cover the bail and co-sign the person’s release, assuming partial responsibility for his return. For the service, bail bondsmen typically charge a non-refundable, fixed rate to their clients.
  
  

Bond Charges

• Although it varies between states by the amount of bail posted and a person’s criminal record, bail bondsmen typically charge a fee of 10 percent of bail costs up front for their services. If the arrested person and his friends and family don’t have the means to cover the 10 percent bond fee, some bondsmen accept collateral to secure the bond, either against a payment plan or in lieu of payment.
  
  

Terms of Bail Bonds

• By accepting a bail bondsman’s service, the accused agrees to abide by the terms of his bail, which usually proscribe that he stays within a geographic area. Judges may also require treatment and drug testing if the accused has a history of substance abuse. In addition to the court’s terms of bail, a bondsman may also set additional terms that the bonded person is required to follow or face being returned to jail.
  
  

Ending Bond

• If a bonded person meets all conditions of his bail and returns to court as scheduled, the terms with his bondsmen end. If he fails to meet conditions or flees, the bonding agency will attempt to recover him by employing bounty hunters to locate and take custody of the fugitive.