Your Get Out of Jail Cards

When a person is arrested and booked into jail for any type of crime they must wait in their holding cell until their bail hearing or their bail is set remotely. At a hearing the bail amount will be set by the judge. In order to post bail and get out of jail a person must be able to put down that necessary cash, in full. However, there are other ways to get out of jail on bail that don't require having the full bail amount. The following are the three most common types of bail.

PR Bonds

A personal recognizance bond is often reserved for first time offenders who have been arrested for crimes that were nonviolent. A PR bond means the court will release the defendant on their word that they will appear back in court the day they are scheduled to. There is no fee associated with PR bonds, which makes them the most affordable way to get out of jail.

Cash Bonds

The second way to get out of jail on bail is to post your full bail amount using cash, paid directly to the courts. While you generally get your money back after court, it is unusual for people to have the required amount of cash on hand for the high bail amounts often set by the court system. Bail for even small crimes can be in the thousands of dollars, and it only goes up from there, reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars or more for violent crimes.

Surety Bonds

Since many people can not afford the cost of a cash bond there is another option, called a surety bond. Surety bonds are often referred to as bail bonds. It involves paying a bail agency a percentage of the total bail amount, commonly about 10 percent, at which point the agency will post the bail for the defendant. This fee is a one time, non refundable payment. It is crucial that the released person appears at each and every one of their scheduled court hearings to ensure they are not rearrested on a warrant.

If you have any questions about bail bonds in Panama City, FL or throughout the state of Florida be sure to reach out to the team at Steele Boys' Bail Bonds. Our family owned bail bond agency can help anyone in need of bail services get out fast. To learn more about how we can help or to request a bail bond in Panama City give us a call at (850) 403-0214. We're available day or night to assist you.

Steele Boys' Bail Bonds Blog

Written and Published By MORBiZ