Editorial
Front Page - Friday, November 20, 2009
Bail bondsman offers a rare inside look at enigmatic profession
David Laprad
A Meigs County church treasurer is arrested for allegedly stealing money. Chattanooga police officers take a gang member into custody for his apparent involvement in a shootout that sends a stray bullet into the bedroom of a teenage girl. The parents of a Sequatchie County man charged with child molestation are arrested after purportedly allowing their son to live with his little sister.
What do these people have in common, other than being accused of committing a crime? They’re out on bond.
The purpose of the bail bond system is to guarantee the appearance of a criminal defendant in court. While this can place people accused of committing violent crimes back on the streets, bail bondsman David Skiles says he’s not in the business of deciding guilt or innocence.
“Good people go to jail,” he says. “If a judge has set a bond for someone, and that person has the resources to get out of jail, somebody will get him out.”
Bail bonding works like this: after an individual is arrested, the police incarcerate him and a judge sets the bail, if applicable. Once a licensed agent posts the bond at the detention facility, the defendant is released. For his services, the bail bondsman usually charges the defendant a fee totaling 10 percent of the bond.
Skiles, who lives and works in Soddy Daisy, Tenn., says money drew him to the business 19 years ago. A lifelong barber, his bonding activities quickly outgrew his hair-cutting operation. “I started out as a full-time barber and a part-time bondsman, and within two years, I was a full-time bondsman and a part-time barber,” he says.
There are about two dozen bonding companies in Hamilton County, Skiles estimates, and more than enough business to go around. However, as with any economic venture, there are risks.
For starters, if one wants to become a bondsman, he has to place a big chunk of change in escrow to cover his bonds. Then, if someone for whom he’s posted bond misses his appointment in court, he’ll have 180 days to find him or he’ll lose the money he posted. Skiles downplays the risks, though, saying every business venture is a gamble.
To minimize the possibility of losing money, Skiles says a bondsman must do his homework and choose his clients carefully. “I do a thorough background check, the same one the FBI does,” he says. “Then I see what kind of person he is. If he’s married, has two kids, owns a home and works in town, he’s not going to abandon his family and run.”
Since Skiles works in the town in which he’s spent his life, he knows either most of the people who end up being his clients or someone, such as a family member, who knows where they are at all times. He also has a good relationship with the local police.
Stiles further minimizes his risks by only posting bonds set at $20,000 or less. “You don’t want to put all of your eggs in one basket,” he says. “You could get shut down.”
Partly due to his strong contacts in Soddy Daisy, and partly because of his diligence, Skiles has lost only two clients in his nearly two decades in the bonding business. When asked if he has any good stories about chasing them down, though, he says no.
“A lot of people see Dog on TV and think that’s what it’s like to be a bondsman,” says Skiles. “But that’s TV. I’ve never jumped into a car with a bunch of people and knocked down a man’s door in the middle of night.”
Skiles doesn’t seem disappointed with the uneventful nature of bonding. Rather, he’s settled into a comfortable routine, bonding clients with whom he feels comfortable and keeping tabs on where they are.
Even the crimes his clients commit are relatively undramatic. Most are charged with driving on a revoked license, DUI or domestic assault — all serious offenses, but not the kind that would keep Stiles up nights wondering if his clients are slipping out of town.
Stiles even finds humor in what he does, joking that some of his repeat customers should pay him a retainer. He takes his work seriously, though, and is pleased with the strict requirements for becoming a bondsman. “You have to pass a background check, and then all three criminal court judges interview you,” he says. “And they check you out good. You can’t be a bondsman if you’ve had a felony charge.”
There’s talk in the state legislature of handing the work of bondsmen over to the government, ostensibly as a cost saving venture, but Stiles isn’t worried.
“The system works great the way it is,” he says. “The government will never be able to do as well as the bondsmen.”
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