Press release copied and pasted for your info.......
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7109 Staples Mill Rd, Suite 187 # 1 # 804.433.3833
Richmond, VA 23229
http://www.bailtruth.comFor Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Conner Morris
press@bailtruth.com804-433-3833, ext 515
Virginia Spends Hundreds Of Millions of Dollars Per year on Direct and Indirect Costs Related to State Ran Criminal Welfare Programs, Called Pretrial Services. Virginians for the Preservation of Bail Stands With Taxpayers Against This Waste and Abuse of State Resources.
Criminal welfare programs in Virginia, called pretrial services agencies, are responsible for releasing dangerous criminals from jail without any guarantee that they’ll come back to court. Taxpayers are on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars a year that go to fund these programs and to pay for their indirect costs. Virginia bail agents, with the support of both bail bondsman associations in Virginia, have united with Virginians for the Preservation of Bail. Bail agents in Virginia will stand with victims of criminal welfare programs and with taxpayers against waste, fraud, and abuse in the criminal justice system.
Richmond, VA – (December 28, 2009) – Virginians for the Preservation of Bail has joined with the Virginia Bondsmen’s Association and the Virginia Property Bondsmen’s Association to challenge Virginia’s state ran criminal welfare program, called pretrial services.
Virginians for the Preservation of bail has launched a public awareness campaign, which will include radio, newspaper, and television advertisements. A first round of radio ads, released today, will be aired on radio stations across Virginia through the upcoming Virginia General Assembly Session. The ads may be heard by visiting
http://www.bailtruth.com, and clicking on the Radio Ads Link.
We know that defendants who are released on secured bond, utilizing the services of a commercial bail agent, are much more likely to make all court dates through the disposition of their case. In fact, according to the study Public vs. Private Law Enforcement: Evidence from Bail Jumping: 2002 – Eric Helland andAlexander Tabarrok, the probability of a defendant who misses a court date remaining a fugitive is 53% less likely on a surety bond versus criminal welfare programs like pretrial services.
7109 Staples Mill Rd, Suite 187 # 2 # 804.433.3833
Richmond, VA 23229
http://www.bailtruth.comPretrial services agencies attempt to replace an effective private industry, commercial bail, with a government bureaucracy that releases criminal defendants without any real assurance that they will come back to court. These programs put the costs of bail, release, supervision, and apprehension (should the defendant flee) at the foot of the taxpayer. Bill Weisband, Executive Director of Virginians for the Preservation of Bail, addresses the issue by saying: “pretrial services represents a government takeover of private industry. It wastes taxpayer resources, it quite often fails, and it offers no remedy when a defendant does fail to appear other than leaving already overworked police departments to re-arrest their fugitives. The time has come for legislators to stand with taxpayers against this waste and abuse of public funds.”
Virginians for the Preservation of Bail is an advocacy organization working on behalf of Bail Professionals, bail bondsmen, their families and associates and the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia to stand against reckless and dangerous pretrial release practices. For more information, visit
http://www.bailtruth.com or call 1-804-433-3833.
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