You’ve just been arrested, processed and put into a cell after an unfortunate run-in with the police. What comes next? Well, you’re likely going to be in a holding cell with several other people in the same predicament as yourself—people who will be calling their family members, friends and acquaintances to help them post bail and get out of jail.
But, while you may just want to keep to yourself and remove yourself from this ordeal as fast as humanly possible, you might attract attention from someone else: another apprehended person like yourself who is just a tad too helpful in providing you with the number of a reliable bail bondsman.
What’s the point we’re trying to make here? Well, it comes down to a practice called “capping,” which is when an inmate is paid by a bonding office to recommend certain venues to people who may be looking for a bail bond in Brazoria County. This practice is illegal and highly untrustworthy, but at the same time, can be extremely difficult to prove. As someone who may be seeking bond after being arrested, it’s important not to find yourself being influenced by someone posing on behalf of a bail bondsman.
Avoiding capping
If you’re approached by someone offering to help you find a secure source for a bail bond in Brazoria County, take their advice with a grain of salt. While it may seem convenient to get the number of a bondsman right then and there, the best course of action you can take is to call a family member or trusted friend and have them post bond first. If they can’t, have them find a reliable bondsman through natural means.
Often times, someone who is capping for a bond office can be persistent and even threatening if you decline their offer of help. The best thing to do in this situation is to politely accept their advice, but avoid following through with it in any case. Always alert an officer if you’ve been physically threatened by someone offering to provide you with bail information.
Capping hurts everyone
The reason that capping is so detrimental is due to the negative circumstances that it can have for everyone involved with the bonding process. If you take out a bail bond in Brazoria County, there’s the expectation that you’ll pay it back, after showing up for court dates and staying on the right side of the law.
Capping practices, however, are often a gateway to other shady misdeeds, including various forms of extortion over the person responsible for securing the bond, as well as intricate terms of a bond agreement that allow a shady bondsman to cheat the system and collect more than they’re due.
When a bond office practices capping, it also hurts the reputation of legitimate bond offices that do not engage in this practice, since the perception of all bonding agents is tarnished to the person who was swindled by a capping bondsman.
The bottom line
When it comes down to securing a bond that you can have faith in, make sure that you’re choosing a bondsman yourself and not taking the recommendation of someone that you barely know in a time of convenience. Avoiding capping practices will put you on the right path to freedom, without the overhanging worry of illicit practices behind your back.