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In the legal world, court hearings, trials, bails and proceedings are a daily cup of tea. There are many
people who make and enable the functioning of these legal tasks. Apart from lawyers and other jobs
in these proceedings, there are other people that help in the functioning too. A bail bondsman is a
person who is responsible for servicing bail bonds. To add more information. A bail bondsman is an
agent or person who makes the payment of the bail for an arrested criminal defendant in the court.
This is in the form of cash or other assets, that acts as the surety agent for the arrested suspect. It is
the responsibility of the bail bondsman (also known as bail bonding agent or bail agent) to make sure
the suspect appears in court for the further trials and proceedings. In legal terms as per the Section 6
VAC 20-250-10 of the Regulations Relating to Property and Surety Bail Bondsmen, a "bail
bondsman" means any person who is licensed by the Department who engages in the business of
bail bonding, and is thereby authorized to conduct business in all courts of the Commonwealth. Let us
check the details on bail bondsman job description.
Bail Bondsman Job Description & Requirements
Well, the history of bail bondsman job as an occupation drives back in the colonial times, and has
been a practice in the American legal system ever since.
Education and Other Required Skills
A training course certificate and a license are the most important bail bondsman requirements. The
training differs with different states. The candidate has to be at least 18 years of age and must have a
high school diploma. A clean criminal background check and no prior criminal record is mandatory.
Good knowledge in subjects like mathematics, social sciences, geography and accounting is
preferred. Also a good command over other languages like Spanish, etc., will be an advantage.
Because of the nature of the job, strong communication skills and a good physical health is required.
They must have effective skills to communicate with law enforcement officers and criminals. This job
may be stressful at times, so the candidate must be able to stay cool even in all kinds of situations.
Job Description
A bail bondsman job description is everything related to servicing bail bonds. Let us check in detail
about the frame of work in the field of a bail bondsman job.
The key job is to arrange for the bail of the arrested suspect. The bail bondsman will pay a certain
amount for releasing the suspect until the next hearing. He is the surety agent for the suspect to
attend the proceedings whenever required.
Usually, the bail bondsman will charge a fee of 10% of the total bail amount. Before taking over the
case for any suspect, a bail bondsman will conduct research about the same, because if he is opts as
the surety agent and the suspect does not turn up, the bail bondsman loses the money that he has
2. invested in the bail amount for the suspect.
The bail bondsman agent will conduct complete research about the suspect for whom he is the agent.
After this, he may decide to reject or to accept the bail case. If he decides to accept so , and posts the
bond, and the suspect appears on the trail day, he gets the money on the bond back. If the suspect
does not show up, the bail bondsman has to arrange to get the suspect in court, either by himself or
with the help of bounty hunter or fugitive recovery agents.
The court then will decide and give time to the bail bondsman to find and get the suspect in court. The
number of days differs with every state.
Bail bondsman are usually risk takers, there is a financial risk involved in this job. So they have these
specific reliability standards that they use before accepting the case of any suspect. The bail
bondsman will check the criminal record of his client, along with other factors like community, family,
background, employment history, etc.
It is important for a bail bondsman to keep track of the suspect and verify the whereabouts,
sometimes even on a regular basis.
Also, all related paperwork needs to be done very carefully and on time, since it requires to be
submitted in the court.
Job Prospects
Bail bondsman are mainly self employed. They can also work for a firm in the beginning for good
experience first. Usually, they will be hired by insurance companies as general agents. Many bail
bondsman work in groups and partnerships. When talking about the earnings for a bail bondsman
job, it will depend on the time and effort invested in this job. It also depends on the state and city that
the bail bondsman is employed in. Career opportunities are growing in this field. However , this is not
a regular job, it requires a lot of traveling even at odd hours. This also invites risks if correct
verifications of the suspect are not done.
Bail bondsman job description, though sounds tedious, is growing and important in criminal justice. If
you are the one brave on the nerves and have the passion for this work, a bail bondsman job is one
good option.
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