As September winds down, so does the Pretrial Justice Institute’s self-proclaimed, first ever annual Bail Month. In what was promised to be a month of facts and research about how effective public sector pretrial programs are and how ineffective the commercial bail industry is, there has been little if any interesting revelations.  In fact, the only research and information that has been provided during PJI’s Bail Month has been daily “Bail Month Facts” that have been posted by the commercial bail industry.  These Bail Month Facts have been pulled from numerous research studies that have been conducted by the past several decades by both public and private entities. Additionally, the most interesting part of these research studies is that each and every  one of them proves that commercial bail is more effective than any other form of pretrial release.  Check out the recent press release from the team at ExpertBail that discusses these daily bail facts and highlights the achievements and effectiveness of commercial bail.  In our opinion, this is the right way to truly celebrate Bail Month.  Read the release below.

September is Bail Month:  Celebrating the Bail Bond Industry with the Facts
The ExpertBail team shares a new bail fact everyday through the month of September

(Calabasas, California)  If you haven’t heard yet then you will be happy to know that the month of September has been officially designated as “Bail Month.”  The most interesting part about this designation is that the bail bond industry is not responsible for the declaration.  In fact, the announcement was made by the Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI), a government funded criminal justice social welfare program.  Even more interesting is that PJI has no intention of celebrating the bail industry, but rather an overall strategic objective of eliminating it from the criminal justice system.  That is what makes this announcement so strange, at least for Eric Granof, Vice President of Corporate Communications for AIA, the nation’s oldest and largest family of bail bond insurance companies, and Managing Director of the ExpertBail Network. “Most people when they designate a month to a cause, they do so in order to educate and inform people, in a positive way about that cause,” says Granof.  “But in this case, PJI has declared September Bail Month so that they can spread negative propaganda and misinformation about the bail industry.”  Granof adds, “As a communications professional, it seems like a real misguided and desperate approach.” 

So far this month, there has been very little information coming out from PJI and their partner the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) in regards to Bail Month.  The only real communication has been a newsletter offering up three anti-bail publications that were written and distributed to no real effect last September.  But to say that Bail Month has been a total failure would be untrue.  Members of the commercial bail industry have been using the month of September to do what makes sense to do…and that is celebrate the bail industry and educate people on its important role in the criminal justice system.  In order to accomplish this, The ExpertBail Network, the nation’s first and only nationally branded network of bail agents, has spent the month providing daily “Bail Month Facts.”  These daily facts are pulled from decades of research, articles, whitepapers and surveys and are designed to communicate one thing…the effectiveness and efficiency of the commercial bail industry.

“If the public sector pretrial community wants to have a Bail Month, then we will have a Bail Month,” says Granof.  “Every piece of research ever done on the subject of pretrial release, has unanimously and consistently proven that the most effective form of pretrial release is through a financially secured commercial bail bond.  We have no problem sharing and celebrating Bail Month with those facts.”

The most obvious question that follows is then why doesn’t PJI share their facts with the public?  Why don’t they share their research studies?  Granof answers simply by stating, “Because they don’t have any, if they did, they would have called it Pretrial Service Agencies Month.”  Click here if you would like to see the full collection of Bail Month Facts.

About ExpertBail
ExpertBail is the bail bond industry’s first true national bail bond network. Comprised of the most experienced and highest quality bail agents in the industry, ExpertBail helps consumers reduce the clutter in the bail marketplace and directs them towards a trusted, proven and experienced bail agent in a simple and transparent way. ExpertBail is backed by AIA, the oldest and largest family of bail bond insurance companies. With over 150 years of stability, trust and knowledge behind every bond written in the ExpertBail Network, its focus is on the consumer and helping them through a difficult time. The mission of ExpertBail and its network of agents is not only to meet the expectations of customers, but to exceed them substantially.

About AIA
The AIA Family of Companies has been partnering with agents across the country for over a century. Formed in 2003 as an alliance of the surety bail industry’s leading companies Allegheny Casualty, International Fidelity and Associated Bond, AIA utilizes a unique “service-focused” approach to management that provides its family of agents with the knowledge, tools and commitment they need to grow their business and succeed. AIA has become the overwhelming industry leader in agent service, national coverage, bail written and number of agents.

Read more about bail month: Celebrating Bail Month with the Facts

Read a post from ExpertBail’s bail bond blog: ExpertBail Bail Bond Blog

Have questions about the bail bond industry?  Learn more here: Bail Bond Process