# What is the purpose of paying bail? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-paying-bail/713932 "2015-03-01T15:29:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-paying-bail/713932/41 "2015-03-03T07:39:11Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > My wife got released on her own recognizance for a DUI when she was drunk and pissing on herself, and the officer gave her a ride home. We aren’t celebrities. All of these counter examples posted here just make me more chagrined. They were apparently just trying to mess around with me, which is pretty much what I suspected all along. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-paying-bail/713932/42 "2015-03-03T07:45:59Z")
No bail bondsmen in Ireland, either, which is also a common law country. Here, your ordinary accused who isn’t considered likely to skip their next court date will be released on their own bond, which will involve a sum they’ll have to pay into court in the event they don’t turn up. An accused who the court has some, but not huge, concerns about their likelihood of turning up will be asked to make a cash lodgment into court of some or all of that sum. Where there are fairly significant concerns, but not enough to deny bail altogether, an independent surety will be required - this is a person who can show they have enough money in their bank account to cover the amount that will be owed if the person doesn’t show up in court. As Loach said, most of the time when people don’t show up it’s not because they’re actively trying to flee. They just can’t be bothered. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-paying-bail/713932/43 "2015-03-03T14:01:19Z")
For those interested, [here is a (pdf) paper](http://mason.gmu.edu/~atabarro/PublicvsPrivate.pdf) on the commercial bail bonding system. [Here is an article](http://wilsonquarterly.com/stories/the-bounty-hunters-pursuit-of-justice/) by one of the authors of the paper that is not a pdf. The finding of the paper are that 25% of defendants do not show for the trial. For those on commercial bond the failure to appear rate is 28% lower than those on ROR, and 18% lower than those on government bond. For those on commercial bond who do skip, they are 50% less likely to be on the street one year later than those who are not on commercial bond. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-paying-bail/713932/44 "2015-03-03T14:52:32Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > … The idea that an accused person is in the custody of a private business; that the private business can arrest him without warrant; can break into his house; all by virtue of a contract of bond; strikes me as repugnant to the rule of law and due process protections for the liberty of the individual. Agreed. And thanks for the rest of the education. Between private traffic enforcement, private jails, and private prisons, I seriously question where the US will be in 50 years. Not gonna be my problem, but it’s still not a good trend. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-paying-bail/713932/45 "2015-03-04T23:59:16Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Actually, the policy reason seems simple enough: the power to arrest an individual is one of the most serious intrusions on individual liberty imaginable. Allowing a private business to acquire the right to arrest, as part of a contractual arrangement for profit, seems repugnant to the liberty of the individual and the rule of law. Only a government agent, subject to laws regulating arrest and the direct supervision of the courts, should have that power. Whereas in the United States, serious intrusions on individual liberty are only tolerated from private actors. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-paying-bail/713932/46 "2015-03-05T12:57:58Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > All of these counter examples posted here just make me more chagrined. They were apparently just trying to mess around with me, which is pretty much what I suspected all along. I don’t know about that. In my state it is practically unheard of to be arrested and have bail set on motor vehicle violations including excessive speed and driving while suspended.\* The only time I asked for bail on a DWI was when the driver was driving on a Polish driver’s license and there was a good chance he wouldn’t show up for court. However other states routinely arrest for motor vehicle violations and place bail on the more serious charges. \*Just to clarify, it is legal in NJ to arrest for a motor vehicle violation. It’s just that the standards have changed significantly. 15 years ago it was rare but happened. Now the hoops you have to jump through to get a warrant approved for MV violations make it not worth it to even try. DWI’s are catch and release. You are arrested, tested and processed and then let go. Unless you decide to be a dick and refuse to call to get someone to pick you up. Then you have to stay until you are sober. But all that is set under state law, state attorney general guidelines and state case law. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-paying-bail/713932.md?page=2)