BY |

Discovering that a loved one has been arrested can be shocking. The guilt of not having the money needed to retain legal counsel or help with their bail can cause emotional devastation, as you are unsure of the future of your family member. However, bail bonds can be a lifeline during these difficult times, enabling you to reunite with the defendant at a small fee. An experienced bail bonds firm, on top of providing financial assistance, will explain what to do if a loved one is arrested.

Events that Happen Post-Arrest

Arrests are usually confusing and overwhelming for family members, as they come when least expected. However, understanding the arrest process can ease the stress and anxiety. The steps that follow arrest include:

Booking and Processing

After arrest, the police can issue the arrestee a citation and then release them. However, arrests, especially for serious charges, usually result in booking and detention. The arresting officers take the defendant to the nearest police station for booking, which entails:

  • Gathering the defendant’s personal information, like name, age, and address
  • Fingerprinting
  • Taking mugshots or photos
  • Confiscation of personal effects

The officers run a background check using the information provided to establish if there are pending arrest warrants.

After the booking, the defendant can call a friend, colleague, immediate family member, or bail bonds firm. Many do not have a bail bondsman in mind to call, so they call their loved ones to arrange for their pretrial release. Defendants must be allowed to contact people on the outside for help within three hours of booking to minimize their stay in pretrial detention.

The Arraignment Proceeding

After booking, the arresting officer prepares a file and sends it to the prosecutor, who decides whether to file formal charges. If the prosecutor opposes lodging formal charges because of insufficient evidence, they send the file back for further investigation. In this situation, the defendant should be released immediately without posting bail.

However, when the prosecutor prefers formal charges, the defendant must post bail as provided in the bail schedule or wait for a decision by the judge in the arraignment hearing. The hearing must be scheduled within 48 hours of the arrest unless it is on a weekend or public holiday.

In the arraignment proceeding, the judge reads out the defendant’s charges, and the defendant enters a plea. Also, the judge can address the bail issue during the hearing. Depending on the case's facts, they can grant or deny the accused bail. If the accused is unsatisfied with the bail set and wants a release on their own recognizance or a bail reduction, they can request a formal bail hearing through their attorney. A bail proceeding can also happen if the prosecutor wants the court to deny the accused bail.

Posting Bail

When the judge sets bail, you can arrange for the loved one’s pretrial release. There are several options for posting bail, including cash bail, property bonds, and bail bonds. Of these bail options, using bail bonds makes the pretrial release process easy.

Steps After Family Member Arrest

There are several steps you can take to help loved ones post-arrest. The accused is vulnerable and needs family support to overcome these challenging times. Discussed below is what to do if a loved one arrested:

  1. Remain Calm

Arrests can be confusing and stressful. You will likely have emotional distress like anger, fear, or helplessness. The feeling of helplessness comes when you learn of the bail amount and cannot consolidate the funds. When the anger, anxiety, and confusion take over, you will carry the stress and devastation the defendant is experiencing while behind bars, meaning you might do little or nothing to help a loved one post-arrest.

It is natural to feel devastated when you receive bad news, especially the arrest of someone you know or love. However, when you allow the high emotions to take over, you will not help the defendant. You could end up making their situation worse. So, stay calm even after the news and find ways you can be of use to the defendant.

If emotions run high during the phone call from jail, the arrested party will not be reassured that you will be of help. The person making the call to you expects you to provide a solution and reassure them that you will work on their pretrial detention exit. Stay composed and give the defendant the reassurance they need about an early pretrial exit.

  1. Collect Information About the Arrest

Information gathering is also among the steps after a family member's arrest that you can take when helping a loved one post-arrest. The best way to collect information is from the first call you receive from the defendant. This phone call can be challenging, but staying calm and exercising discretion is essential. The assumption is that jails record phone calls. Therefore, even if you want details of the case, do not discuss confidential information, as the prosecutor can obtain the recording and use it, even innocent comments, to incriminate the defendant. Let the conversation be precise and tailored to get crucial information to help the defendant leave pretrial detention.

Use the call as a way to gather details:

  • The name of the jailhouse
  • Charge type
  • Booking number, if they have already been booked
  • Bail amount

As much as you collect information about the arrest, do not ask the arrestee about the events leading to the arrest, the parties involved, or the facts of the case. Discussing confidential information in an emotional conversation could lead to self-incriminating statements by the defendant. Let your information collection task focus on establishing the jail location and arrest status. Leave the case details to the defendant’s attorney.

  1. Locate the Defendant

Another way of helping a loved one post-arrest is finding the jail. In some cases, defendants might not know the jail or police station, complicating the pretrial release process. When your loved one does not see the facility where they are incarcerated, you can utilize the San Diego County Inmate Locator to find information about the loved one’s detention facility.

However, arrests do not immediately reflect on this online resource. Before the information is available on the online resource, the defendant must first undergo booking, including fingerprinting, mugshots, and running background checks. Booking can take minutes to hours, depending on the jailhouse. Therefore, when you check the locator and fail to find your loved one’s details online, do not panic. Keep checking, as the system is available around the clock.

When using the inmate locator, look at the database for recent arrests. Once you find it, enter the arrestee’s name, birth date, and address. The database will immediately provide the jailhouse name and address if the defendant has already been booked. If the jail information does not reflect upon searching, wait a few hours before you retry.

  1. Understand the Case’s Facts

Helping a loved one post-arrest requires you to understand the charges they face, the bail figure, and the scheduled hearings. Every county has a bail schedule containing various charges eligible for bail and predetermined bail figures. You can check the schedule to determine the bail your loved one will pay based on their charges. After arrest, the defendant faces many court hearings, including arraignment, formal bail proceedings in some cases, the preliminary hearing for felony charges, and the trial. You should familiarize yourself with these proceedings, too.

  1. Educate yourself on Bail and Other Pretrial Release Options

Now that you know the accused person’s charges and bail, you should educate yourself on the release options. Bail means a financial instrument, in money or property form, that guarantees a defendant’s future court appearances. Bail is a constitutional right but can be denied to some defendants, meaning they could be remanded until the close of the case. Bail is not the only release option. A defendant can be released on a citation before booking. In exceptional circumstances, the judge can grant an own recognizance release to certain defendants, where they exit jail without a financial obligation.

Most bail decisions are made during the arraignment proceeding, which is the first court appearance for the defendant. Here, the defendant is informed of their charges and constitutional rights before they enter a plea. The hearing should happen within 48 hours if the defendant is in custody. However, if they are released on a citation or bail before arraignment, the initial court appearance can happen even after a few weeks of arrest.

When deciding on bail, the judge refers to the San Diego County bail schedule, although they can increase or lower the amount within the confines of the Constitution. Additionally, when the defendant is charged with a first, less severe offense like a misdemeanor, their attorney can compel the court to grant an OR. If the defendant meets the set protocols for this release and the judge grants the request, the defendant will not pay any money to leave jail. Instead, they will sign a written promise, assuring the court that they will appear in court when required. Even though the defendant will not pay any money to secure the pretrial release, they must adhere to particular conditions until the case concludes.

  1. Evaluating Your Financial Options

Among the steps after family member arrest is weighing your options. No one questions your commitment to helping a loved one post-arrest. However, the finances can be a problem when the court sets bail. So, once you discover the amount the court expects the defendant to deposit to guarantee their freedom, you should evaluate your options for paying the amount. Cash and purchasing a bail bond are two main ways of posting bail.

With cash bail, you must deposit the full bail amount upfront on behalf of the inmate. The court keeps the amount as collateral and refunds it at the close of the case. The court refunds the cash when the case ends, regardless of the verdict, but it deducts administration costs. Besides, when the court imposes a monetary fine as part of the sentence, you can use the cash to pay the fine. However, cash bail can cause severe financial strain because many families do not have the funds to pay bail immediately. Again, suspicious cash bail can result in prolonged pretrial detention until the defendant shows that the money used by their family to post bail was not obtained illegally.

Helping a loved one post-arrest, even when you cannot afford cash bail, is possible through a bail bond. The process entails paying a non-refundable bail bond premium of 10% of the total bail to a licensed bail bondsman. When you pay the fee and agree to other terms of the bail bond contract, the experts deposit a surety bond with the relevant court. The bond promises to pay the court an equivalent of bail when the defendant jumps bail. The bail bondsman only charges the fixed bail premium, and in some circumstances, it could demand collateral to secure the bond. This option is flexible because you only require a small fraction of the full bail to help a loved one secure pretrial release.

  1. Contacting a Bail Bondsman

The final step after a family member's arrest is consulting with a reputable bail bonds firm for their services. The company will finance the defendant’s release and offer guidance throughout the release process. The bail bondsman will be critical in helping a loved one post-arrest by securing their prompt release and offering guidance post-release to ensure they comply with court release terms to prevent being rearrested. Once you hire the right bail bondsman, your loved one will be in the right hands. However, do not leave all the work to the experts.

Find a Competent Bail Bondsman Near Me

It is never easy when you learn of a loved one’s arrest. Knowing what to do if a loved one is arrested can reduce the time they spend behind bars and ensure a smooth pretrial release. Hiring an experienced bail bondsman is among the critical steps after a family member is arrested. At San Diego Bail Bonds, we are committed to helping loved ones post-arrest by locating their jail, finding out the amount of bail they should pay, and financing the bail through our bail bond services for a quick and affordable pretrial release. Call us at 619-233-3383 to commence the pretrial release process.