As we in the bail industry work through our daily routine, we know what part we play in the criminal justice system, and how it is our industry that stands right with Lady Justice. We are not in the position to sit in judgment, we are not in the position to free people so they can flee. We are in the position to give people their “Right to Bail”, and to hold them accountable by making sure they go to their court dates.
It is during these times that we have endured in the past decade where we have faced some of the fiercest opposition to our industry with mis-guided darts. I don’t want to spend a lot of time telling you the misguided accusations and objectives the opponents of bail have used. Rather, I want to tell you why the bail industry still exists in most arenas that Bail Reform has targeted.
From the bail agents to the sureties, know we are just in our duties in giving people the right to exercise their Right to Bail. And it all starts at the local level to educate decision makers and lawmakers about why it is that bail should be part of the criminal justice system. We have many entities that take on these fights throughout this country, from the national association with organizations like ours at PBUS, to the sureties, to the state associations, to the local bail associations and finally to the individual bail agents who stand steadfast to fight for our industry.
One local bail agents association that stands out to me is the Hidalgo County Bail Bonds Association. In this week’s publication you can see a post about an event that the HCBBA recently had. You can see that they have relationships with many people in their area that are part of the Criminal Justice System. It is at events like this where relationships are built. It is not there where, just because you know someone, they will always agree with you. It is there where you forge relationships that get people to know you and understand your story about what it is that we actually do in this industry.
I want to give an enormous shout out to the entire membership of the Hidalgo County Bail Bonds Association and to their president, Rene Anzaldua. Rene and many of his board members were present at the last two association conferences I have attended. Getting to learn about their story about their very strong local bail association brings me great joy in knowing that these local bail agents can work together to protect and preserve the bail industry in their area, along with the impact it has across Texas.
Remember when these political leaders and others from the judiciary get together with their colleagues, it is there that they can spread the word about what they know about bail. And when the attacks come at the state level, it is these local leaders that will stand in solidarity with the bail industry.
I highly suggest you follow the Hidalgo County Bail Bonds Association Facebook page and their website to see what they are doing, and then look and plan to do this in your local area. Their website is www.hcbbatx.com, and their Facebook page is www.facebook.com/HCBBA.
We at PBUS look forward to working with this association and any other national, state and local associations to “Protect and Preserve” our Bail Bond Industry.
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