It has been said that it is harder to get out of jail than to be arrested. During my years as a private investigator, I have spoken with families that shared their bad experiences when bonding their loved ones out of jail. The issues I want to discuss are happening primarily in the metro Atlanta area and vary from county to county. The most glaring problem with the bonding system involves different Sheriff’s Departments. One family shared with me their disappointment with a Sheriff Department’s processing when bonding their loved one out of jail. This family posted a bond for a family member around 3 pm. However, their loved one was not released until 1 is the following morning. This is what prompted me to draft this article.
I am not sure about the fee system used for bonding individuals out of jail. What I do know is that there are three payment methods (cash-bond, property-bond, and using a bonding company). When using a bonding company a person pays a percentage of the bond amount, for instance, if the bond is $5000.00 there is a 10% fee which means that the bonding company gets $500 to manage the release of the person in custody. As recently as a year ago a mother told me of an experience in her county. She paid the bonding company the amount needed to get her child out of jail only to find out that the Sheriff Department wanted additional money for administrative fees as well as processing fees. These fees made it more difficult to make bonds.
On February 7, 2022, I received a call for help. The caller wanted to know if I could provide resources/information needed to assist with expediting the processing of the release document handled by a local Sheriff’s office. The bond amount was immediately paid. However, according to the caller, he was told that his family member could still be detained up to 24 hours after the bond was paid. As of Wednesday, February 9, 2022, at 10:54 am his family member was still in the county jail and was not scheduled to be released until around 3 pm.
I do not condone any criminal activity. The issues mentioned in this narrative all involve minor offenses. The best way to avoid having difficult experiences with Sheriff Departments is to not get in trouble in the first place. However, if criminal activity does occur be aware of the difficulty that can be experienced when dealing with different municipalities. With that being said the question is why does it take the Sheriff Department’s hours and in some cases days to process a person out of their facilities? As individuals, we need to do our research and obtain the necessary information to empower ourselves when dealing with law enforcement and other governmental agencies. Stop talking about problems and start working to make changes. Be proactive and not reactive.
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