My Fellow Bail Enforcement Agents,
Greetings from the Executive Directors of the Pennsylvania Association of Bail Enforcement Agents. I have been in contact with numerous Senators, Congresspersons and the senior level of the Pennsylvania State Police all of whom possessing great interest in the passage of SB221 and HB65. This alliance in collaborative effort, once passed, will legitimize what we do as a profession and improve communication between Agents and law enforcement officers across our Commonwealth. Laws are coming and without a doubt, their ratification will impose a high level of regulation, the standardization of bail enforcement curriculum and grant Bail Enforcement Agents a high level of autonomy. Once legislation is approved, bail bondsman will have a finite pool of Pennsylvania Certified Agents (currently no such designation exists, as it does in Delaware) to carry out their mission of bringing fugitives back to the judicial system for the purpose of due process.
What does the passage of laws mean to the Pennsylvania Bail Enforcement Agent? The time has come to act. Individual Agents must unite. The PABEA was formed to lobby for the construction bills to read in an even handed manner. As Agents, we understand that "even handed" means governance which holds all Agents accountable to a written state-wide standard. I urge you to contact us with your questions. We can be reached at:
http://www.pabea.org.
The Association's top initiatives, not in chronological order, are;
Bail Enforcement Agents
1) Commonwealth issued badge and credential similar to that of Act235,
2) Firearms reciprocity as our fugitives do not always remain in Pennsylvania,
3) Legal representation,
4) Liability insurance that is affordable,
5) Standardized curriculum and on-going continuing education,
6) Background checks for entry into our profession,
7) Standards of Conduct and,
Ability to access Target information once held exclusively by law enforcement.
Recognizing our work touches the bail bondsperson and the bail pieces they write, we must act in concert with their concerns to ensure mutual success. Therefore, we have and are continuing to address:
Bail Bondsperson
1) Increasing the re-arrest time period of a fugitive from twenty days to a period greater than one year, preferably unlimited,
2) The standardization of remission periods from its current county mandate to a period greater than two years,
3) Increasing the bail bond commission rate from seven percent to ten percent
4) Bail Enforcement Agencies to carry state licensing,
5) Striking the requirement, in counties where mandated, for bail bond companies to hold office space and monetary backing in locations where the company writes bail pieces.
Please visit us at
http://www.pabea.org, request an application for membership, and help us ensure the future of commercial bail within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. “Unite. Be Heard.”
