Bail Bonds Market Competition, Discount Deals Freaking Out Authorities, Other Bail Bonds Agencies in New Jersey

The Star-Ledger uncovers what it says is
a new trend in New Jersey’ bail bonds business, discount offers
that include low monthly payments for criminal defendants needing
bond posted to avoid pre-trial detention. The Ledger

explains:

Before bail bond companies started offering payment
plans, a defendant would usually pay the full premium, longtime
bail bond agents said. Thus a $100,000 bond with a 10 percent cash
option would have required a $10,000 premium payment to the bail
bondsman. That money paid to the bail bondsman was not refundable
even when the defendant was found not guilty.

But under the new deals being offered, some defendants are paying
as little as 3 percent to a bail bondsman and putting the rest on a
payment plan. The lower upfront cost has made it easier for more
defendants to get out, officials say. However, when a defendant
fails to make the payments, friends and family who have co-signed
for the bond end up on the hook for the premium, a review of court
records shows.

The Ledger characterized the offers as “shadow deals,”
noting that the practice “though not illegal, has attracted the
attention of the state Commission of Investigation,” which has
started a “broad-based investigation into the bail bonds industry.
No fans of competition, the Ledger
reports that:

Prosecutors say the payment plan phenomenon has grown
unchecked in recent years, upending a multimillion dollar bail
industry responsible for ensuring defendants show up in court when
they’re supposed to.

Intense competition among bail bond companies across the state is
pushing down the percentage amounts of a bond that companies take
from defendants to levels never seen before, prosecutors say.

“We’re concerned that the percentages are getting smaller and
smaller and smaller, to 3 percent or less,” said Gene Rubino, the
acting chief of staff for the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.
“It still remains such an unregulated industry.”

Some bail bonds agencies don’t appreciate the competition
either:

Veteran bail agents say bail bond companies that rely
on a high volume of clients have fueled the shift, aggressively
courting clients with low down payment offers as they try to corner
the market on the state’s bail industry.

“How is it possible to survive on a 1 percent down payment?” asked
Scott Berlin, the owner of Berlin Bail Bonds in Newark. “I’ve got
to put gas in my car. How do you do it? They’ve destroyed an
honorable business.”

The discount deals are arrangements between the defendant and
the bail bonds agency offering the deal, and rely on a co-signer or
co-signers who are responsible for the entire premium (the 10
percent) if the defendant doesn’t show up. Authorities complain the
deals are making it harder to ensure defendants return for trial,
and in addition to mulling more regulations for the bail bonds
industry, state officials may also be considering expanding
pre-trial supervision to replace the functions of bail bonds
agents.