PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Local pre-trial release program has proponents, vocal critics

BRADENTON

Bail bondsman Jayston Graham has had to lay off five employees from his Bradenton office in recent months, but unlike most business owners he doesn’t point to the down economy.

He blames Manatee County for taking a huge chunk out of his profits by moving many of his potential customers — inmates at the Manatee County jail — into a pre-trial release services program that doesn’t require a bond before they are released from jail on pending criminal charges.

In 2008, the county accepted 1,500 pre-trial supervision cases in the release program; in 2009, that number jumped to 2,150. And a recent change in first court appearances has proved an even bigger boon for the pre-trial supervised release program.

In October, first court appearances for inmates were pushed back to 1 p.m. instead of 8 a.m., giving county probation screeners at the Manatee jail an extra six hours to look into an inmate’s background. The change has cleared more inmates for pre-trial release services.

To qualify, a suspect must have been arrested in a non-violent crime, and have little or no prior arrest record. Pre-trial release through the county does come with supervision — a judge makes the assessment for each case. Requirements can include drug testing and mandatory reporting to probation officers twice a week. Failure to report or drug use can lead to revocation from the program and arrest.

With a budget of $399,826 this year, and an additional federal stimulus grant totaling $350,000 over the next three years, the county’s pre-trial release services are growing, says Bill High, Manatee County’s probation services manager.

The grant money has allowed two more probation officers to be hired, bringing the county’s total to four screeners at the jail who research inmates’ backgrounds for the judge, and four probation case managers who monitor those placed on supervised release.

But Graham contends the pre-trial release program has cut deep into his business, is wasting taxpayers’ money and putting the public at risk.

Bondsmen operate by putting up bail for an inmate, which amounts to 10 percent of the bond set by a judge. So if an inmate has a $1,000 bond, a bondsman charges the inmate, family members or a friend $100 to get him or her out of jail. The bondsman is then on the hook for the entire $1,000 should a person fail to appear in court.

The bondsman profits by keeping the $100 originally posted after the court case concludes.

But now bondsmen are losing out on hundreds of bond fees as inmates are being offered pre-trial release in exchange for supervision, without having to obtain a bond.

“I can’t believe we have gotten to the point where the government can step in and basically destroy an entire private industry, when really they are duplicating services at the taxpayer’s expense,” Graham said.

He also argues that pre-trial services are putting the public at risk, because offenders are being released from jail and told to report, but don’t always show.