Are There Actual Studies About What Happens when a Person is Released on his Own Recognizance Versus When a Person is Released on Bail? If so, what are the findings?

Yes there are. Though many individuals have criticized the existence of private bondsmen, several individuals have provided credible contentions manifesting the advantages of surety bonds over the release on own recognizance system. This debate has waged for a number of years, and often the criticism of either side of the debate relies on theory. However, two articles, namely those of Dr. Michael Block and Eric Helland and Alexander Tabarrok, present comprehensive evidence to establish the supremacy of surety bonds over release on own recognizance.

Helland and Tabarrok in their article entitled, “Public versus Private Law Enforcement: Evidence from Bail Jumping,” explore the reasons for the increased efficiency of surety bonds. Helland and Tabarrok write of the extensive powers of a bondsman, stating, “Bond dealers and their agents have powerful rights over any defendant who fails to appear, rights that exceed those of the public police. Bail enforcement agents, for example, have the right to break into a defendant’s home without a warrant, make arrests using all necessary force including deadly force if needed…”

Besides these potent powers exerted by bond dealers, they also have more time and resources to dedicate to ensuring their defendants serve under the court’s jurisdiction, and as Helland and Tabarrok state, “In contrast [to bond dealers] public police bureaus are often strained for resources and the rearrest of defendants who fail to show up at trial is usually given low precedence.” In comparison, the rearrest and recapture of these defendants is the sole priority of bail agents.

Correspondingly, Block, who is a professor of Economics and Law, provides additional insight supporting surety bonds. Block examines statistics provided from the 12 largest counties in California, citing that increased failures to appear in court of those released on their own recognizance compared to surety bonds. Furthermore, Block writes of the increased cost effectiveness of surety bonds, stating, “We find that if Surety Bond releases comprised 52% rather than 45% of all releases in California’s 12 largest counties in 2000, the budget savings in these urban counties would have been over $1.3 million…In addition, we estimate there would have been a savings in social costs due to a reduction in the number of fugitives of about $13.3 million.”

Identifying both the economic and statistical advantages of surety bonds, Block’s article corroborates with Helland and Tabarrok, maintaining the superiority of private surety bonds over defendants released on their own recognizance.