Information is powerful, which is why you should know what to do should you ever get arrested before the situations occurs. If you ever find yourself arrested, generally most people's first priority is to get out of jail on bond. There are specific steps that you need to take when you are arrested if you want to be released from jail on bond.
Be Careful with Your Phone Call
When you are processed and booked into jail, you are generally allowed to make at least one phone call, if not more. You want to call a responsible adult in your life, be that a family member or friend, who will be able to make further calls for you.
When you call your responsible friend or family member, you want to ask them to do two different things for you. First, you want to see if they can retain an attorney to represent you or call your attorney if you already have representation. Have them find a criminal defense attorney who is willing to take on a new client.
Second, you want to have your responsible friend or family member call a bail agent to start the process of getting you released from jail. Generally, the less time you spend in jail, the better.
Contact the Bondsmen Right Away
Next, have your friend contact the bail bond agent right away. Once you get in contact with a bail bond agency, it can take a while for the process of securing a bond to be completed, which is why the sooner the process is started, the better.
Make sure that your friend or family member knows what item(s) you may want to use as collateral to secure your bond. Depending on how large the bond for you is, you may want to use jewelry, a vehicle, or a piece of real estate to secure your bond. If the bond amount is low, a credit card deposit may be enough collateral.
Also, be aware that the bail bond company is going to run a credit and background check on you. They are going to want to find out as much as they can about you before guaranteeing your bond. Bond agencies want to lower their risk with the people that they assist. If there is any risky information in your history, make sure that your friend or family member tells the bail bonds company about it upfront. Being upfront about this information can increase the chance that the bail bonds company actually helps you out.
The key to getting out of jail quickly when you are arrested is to contact someone who has the agency to find a bail bond company to work with you to get you out of jail.
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