Being arrested and held in jail takes a tremendous toll on you mentally, emotionally, and financially. It’s costly. Even if you don’t lose time at work, there are fees in jail for food, hygiene products, and medical treatments. Let’s explore five ways you can speed up the bail bond process that can help you get released and back home fast. And, we’ll show you how Simply Bail can speed up the bond process every step of the way.
Understanding the Bail Bond Process
Once you are arrested, you’re fingerprinted, photographed, and booked into the local jail. Here, you’ll await your first appearance before the judge. This hearing is simply about confirming the charges and setting bail. This is not the time to argue the charges or state your innocence. Instead, this hearing sets the terms for your release until the trial. Once bail is set, you can pay it in full, though most courts accept only cash, money order, or certified check. Most people use the services of a bail bondsman to cover the bail that releases you to go home until you have to return to court for trail. Now, let’s see how you speed up the bail bond process.
Tips to Speed Up the Bail Bond Process
You are not in control of the bail bond process — the police, the jail system, and the courts are in charge. Your goal is to do all you can to eliminate friction by being cooperative and following these tips to speed up your bail bond process.
1. Stay Calm
Every step of the arrest, processing, and the entire bail bond process will go more smoothly if you can remain calm. Remember, the police and the jail staff are just doing their jobs. They don’t know you. Panic or anger will not serve you at this time. Whatever it takes to keep your cool and to communicate clearly will help you every step of the way.
2. Contact a Friend or Family Member
After being arrested, you will receive one phone call. Choose a trusted friend or family member who will work as your “personal advocate” to get you released. Your “personal agent” will need to contact a bail bondsman, to process paperwork, and you may need them to cosign for the bail bond money. This is a matter requiring significant mutual trust.
3. Hire a 24/7 Bail Bondsman
Once you have a friend or family member working on your behalf, have them contact a licensed bail bondsman who is available to you 24/7. Bail agents are the experts on how bail bonds work. Choosing an experienced bond agent, respected in the community, and responsive at all times is the key to speeding up the bail bond process. Choose one who is “plugged in” and able to provide information, complete paperwork, and process payments immediately online. In turn, this can avoid the delays associated with having your friend meet with the bail bondsman in person.
4. Gather Information About the Arrest
Gather as much information about your arrest as possible from the moment it occurs. This step is ranked fourth because, in some cases, your bail bondsman will help retrieve some of this information. Your personal agent will need the following details to complete the paperwork required for your release:
- Your full, legal name
- Your date of birth
- List and description of all charges against you
- Location of the jail where you’re being held, including street address, zip code, and phone number
- Your inmate ID number or booking number, assigned to you by the jail
- The bail amount, once the judge sets it
- The conditions of the arrest, such as if there were “aggravating factors” like resisting arrest, intoxication, injuries, etc.
These facts will be used to complete the necessary documentation and help your agent navigate the bail bond process.
5. Contact a Defense Attorney
You do not need an attorney to initiate the bail bond process or to post the bail bond money. However, criminal defense lawyers know bail schedules and can estimate the bail you will be charged before it is set. This can help you to start planning your payment. An attorney can also help cut through delays to setting your bail hearing, and, should bail be denied (a very rare instance), the attorney can advocate on your behalf.
How Simply Bail Can Speed Up the Bond Process
Simply Bail is all about helping you and your personal agent navigate the entire bail bonds process seamlessly. Together, we can work on getting you out of jail as fast and easy as possible.
This is how Simply Bail works:
- First, your agent answers a few questions
- At the same time, we provide your personal agent a list of local, licensed bail bond agencies for them to choose who they would like to work with
- We send your agent a dedicated link connected to your case that guides them through the rest of the bail bonds process
- With the information your agent provides, the selected bail bondsman will locate you in whatever jail you are housed in and determine when bail is set and for how much money
- At each step of the bail bond process, we will help your bail bondsman communicate with your agent through text and email so your agent receives the dedicated link to review financial quotes on the bond premium, fees and collateral, and for your agent to fill out the bail bond application
- All communication and paperwork are processed entirely by the link on your agent’s electronic device. There will be no need for your agent to leave home, get stuck in traffic, or wander from office to office. Conducting all transactions via electronic communication is the fastest way to get you out of jail
- Once your agent confirms the quote and completes the bail bond application with the bail bondsman they can securely process payment
Simply Bail works to get you through the bail bond process fast. With Simply Bail, there’s no time wasted waiting for responses to emails, calls back, trying to find an available fax machine, or having to go into the bond agent’s office. Instead, your personal agent gets you out on bail entirely from the convenience of their electronic device on an expedited timeline.
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