America does not have the room or funds to keep every arrested person in jail. That’s very unfortunate to think about – we have THAT many criminals? It is also not fair to those who are truly innocent of a crime to be kept in custody. Remember “innocent until proven guilty?”
To try and regulate the system, bail is offered to the majority of those who are recently arrested but still awaiting trial. We say bail is offered to the majority because there are some criminals whose crime was too dangerous and violent. Some criminals are deemed a high flight risk. Yet others can be a danger to the public.
But, most who are arrested are offered the chance to post bail and leave jail until they need to appear in court. This gives room in the jails for new arrestees (but, we hope not, really) and the officers have the manpower to keep watch.
Arrested peoples can post bail by paying the full amount in cash or by hiring a professional bail agent like one from Fresno Bail Bond Store Services to help them. In both instances, the arrested person agrees to come to court when asked. If he or she paid in cash, their cash bail would be returned. But, if they hired a bail agent whom they pay about 10% of the bail amount to, they will not get their money back, as they are paying for the agent’s services.