News
Updates from the National Association of Bail Agents
The SAFE-T Act at Two Years: What the Data Says, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters
Illinois’s SAFE-T Act did not produce the catastrophe critics predicted. It also has not produced the unalloyed success proponents claim. Two years of partial, mixed data — and one major missing comparison.
Beyond the Statewide Average: What Illinois’s County-Level Data Actually Shows About the SAFE-T Act
The Illinois SAFE-T Act's favorable headline numbers rest on Cook County data — a jurisdiction that had already moved away from cash bail six years before the law. Counties that actually relied on cash bail tell a different story: rising re-offense rates, exploding FTA summons volume, and declining victim restitution.
Betrayed by Bargains: Bail Bond Scam Leaves Families Hundreds Out of Pocket
When desperation strikes at Wayne County’s Criminal Justice Center, families seeking to free loved ones on bail may fall prey to a growing scam that dangles impossibly low fees—and vanishes with the c
Fugitive Wanted for Sex Crimes Arrested After Armed Standoff in Livingston Starbucks
Livingston, MT – January 28, 2025 – A tense armed standoff at a Starbucks in Livingston, Montana, concluded without injury when 34-year-old Timothy Westervelt, a Billings resident wanted on multiple f
Standing Up for Justice in a System Under Attack
I am a bondsman—a profession rooted in the Constitution and born from the fundamental principle of justice: the presumption of innocence. For centuries, the right to bail has been a cornerstone of our
National bail association asks Senate to begin impeachment against two Bozeman judges
The executive director of the American Bail Coalition has submitted a request to Montana Senate President Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, and other members of the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Over
Federal judge orders Bozeman municipal court to take disputed bonds
A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction and order that will force the Bozeman Municipal Court to accept the bail bonds of Helena-based Bad Boy Bail Bonds after two judges refused to honor
Don't Blame Bail Agents for Bail Reform's Failures
After escaping domestic violence with two toddlers in tow and another in my belly, I embarked on a journey. I hold positions as the President of the New York State Bail Association (NYSBA) and the Nat
Bail bondsman sues Bozeman municipal judges for stopping his business until he withdraws complaint
A Helena-based bail bondsman says in a new court filing that he has no other choice than to sue Bozeman municipal court judges after they have apparently refused accepting his company’s bail bonds bec