Hamilton County Criminal Court judges state that tighter regulations are needed to cut down on the large number of disputes occurring among the 25 bail bonding companies in the area. The judges are responsible for regulating the local bail bond companies. They stated that they are open to suggestions throughout the next month for any changes that may be necessary. One judge made the comment as the hearing was coming to an end that he feels the procedures are what are causing the problems.
Immediate changes taking effect are starting with the Hamilton County Jail. Each suspect at the Hamilton County Jail will now have a designated bail bond company assigned to he or she on their release paperwork. This change should quickly eliminate one of the complaints that was heard in the court room of more than one bail bond company agreeing to post the bail amount. This occurs when the suspects friends or family are working with one company, while the suspect gets tired of waiting and hires another. On average, suspects are able to be bailed out of Hamilton County Jail in about 90 minutes time. However, if they are extremely busy, it can occasionally take up to 3 hours.
With the new changes taking place, if a company other than the designated agency shows up to bail a suspect out, the jail will not release the suspect to the undesignated agency.
Other complaints heard in the courtroom were that jail staff was allowing bail bondsman into restricted areas within the jail to meet with the suspects. These allegations are going to be further looked into and investigated. A 21-year-old man told the court that when he was being held in custody at the jail, he saw a jail staff member take a bail bondsman into the cell area. Cells are a restricted area where bail bondsmen are not allowed to enter.
