A Quick Guide to Bail Bonds and Crime Spikes
Admin • May 14, 2020

When a loved one has been arrested, the main goal is to pay a bail bond and bring the loved one as soon as possible. Unfortunately, you could come across some delays in the judicial system. One of the delays is known as a crime spike.
A crime spike occurs when more arrests have been made than usual and the judicial process slows down. Learn more about crime spikes and ways to still help your loved one during a stressful time.
Holiday Hours
Throughout the calendar year, some of the largest crime spikes occur during holidays. On popular holidays like Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Christmas, courts will see spikes in cases of theft, home invasion, and drunk driving incidents. Not only do the arrests increase, but the courts have holiday hours planned around the specific days.
When holiday hours take place in the court system, you may find delays for your loved one's hearing and release. Even though the holiday hours may impact the court, the hours will not impact a bail bonds company.
A majority of bail bond companies are open 24 hours a day and every day of the year. The extended hours allow you to contact the companies for more information.
Employee Resources
When a crime spike does occur, the processing of paperwork and bail amounts for your loved one could delay simply because of a lack of employee resources. Judicial employees become spread thin with the amount of work needed to process arrests and the delays could result in extra time without bail posted.
For example, a large protest could lead to dozens of arrests. The backlog will quickly build as each person is processed. In some cases, extra employees may help with the processing during larger crime spikes. Employees are also limited to traditional office hours like 9 am to 5 pm in most cases.
A bail bond company has the resources to check in on the jail, receive status updates, and understand a better timeline and release date. While the delays could take hours instead of days, the information available will help reduce any stress or anxiety associated with the release.
Bail Bond Payments
Even if you deal with the delays associated with a crime spike, you have a lot of options to move forward. When you work directly with a bail bond company, you can complete everything so all of the paperwork is good to go as soon as a bail amount is posted.
A lot of times, you have the option to complete the paperwork and payment information from the comfort of your own home. Email, fax, or drop off the paperwork. Some companies also accept online payments so you do not have to visit a jail or bail bond company.
Often the payment is the last part to process during a bail bond as you await the set bail amount. Specific crimes could have set bail amounts so a bond company will give you estimates on the bail bond amount so you can prepare payment methods until the final bail is set.
The location of a bail bond company also helps with bond processing during crime spikes. Companies are often located just a few miles from the court or jail and will help speed the process along so you do not have to worry about any travel delays. With the 24 hour service, a bail bond company will remain open and ready as soon as the courts open up.
For more information on the bail bond process, contact us at Matt McKeehan Bail Bonds. We have years of experience dealing with bail bonds and have been through plenty of crime spike situations to help guide you along the way.