New-York tribune., 1920-12-24
Professional
Bonds1nen Are
Called Menace
Insurance Officials Want
the Business Confined to
Reputable Companies as
Check to Crime Wave
Bail Too Easy to Get
Large Concerns Better Able
10 Run Down Criminals
Who Flee, Is Argument

An official of an insurance company,
which abandoned its bail bond business
a year ago because of heavy losses and
its reluctance to engage in competition
with less scrupulous concerns and indi-
viduals, asserted yesterday that the
chief trouble with the bail bond busi-
ness is the professional bondsman.
The police are now investigating the
business and its possible relation to
the city's crime wave.
Take the bail bond business out of
the hands of professional bondsmen," ;"
re said, land let it be managed and
regulated by insurance companies on
sounder, more reliable basis"
He said that some of the most repu-
table companies have continued supply
ing security for people under arrest
and have conducted this business in q
commendable way. in competition with
other companies and with professional
bondsmen.
Business Is Growing
The representative of another COM
pany, doing no bail bond business. said
that undoubtedly the ready facilities
Tor getting bail enabled many real
criminals to remain at large and con-
tinue their career Of crime. although
there were charges against tnem some
individual bondsmen, especially he
said, would provide the security for
known criminals and were getting rich
by squeezing every dollar out of people
under arrest whose innocence was
proved later.
One insurance man said that the
tribute paid to the individual bonds
men could not be estimated. This
business has been growing, he said,
through the prevalence of crime, al
proportion to the crimes.
He said that the bond business was
one way whereby an insurance CON-
pany might partially make up for the
losses on burglary insurance. When
protection of honest mems property
failed the companies could reduce their
general losses by protecting those who
stole the property, provided they were
caught.
Bondsmen insisted yesterday that, in
helping to keep arrested people out of
to the state, because the jais and pris-
ons were full and, unless bail was pro-
vided as freely as it has been, there
would be no place to put the prisoners
Another argument advanced in favor
OF such business was that the large
insurance companies were more able to
run down those who jumped bail than
would be.
Deny Loot Is Surety
It was said that individual profcs-
sional bondsmen have been going Sc
curity for dozens of men charged with
crime, although these bondsmen pos
sessed only one piece Of real estate
and were making that the security in
each case.
Reputable companies have had a UNI:
form charge of 2 per cent of the
amount Of bail required. For years it
has been their custom to have agents
in the courtrooms to solicit the busj-
ness of persons without means to paw
the bail demanded. According to the
law only a recognized company, o., !
owner, has been competent K
provide bail, and cash could not be ac-
cepted. Bonds or securities of some
kind were required.
Officials of insurance companies in
terested in providing bail said they
were sure that police officials were