The Professional Bondsmen of Texas- Blog

  The most memorable moment of Tuesday’s fiery debate between New York governor Kathy Hochul and her Republican challenger, Lee Zeldin, centred on crime. After Zeldin hammered Hochul on bail-reform laws that put criminals back on the streets, one of the main themes of his campaign, Hochul seemed to admit more than she might have wished. ‘I don’t know why that’s so important to you’, she responded. With Democrats like Hochul wondering aloud why anyone cares about repeat offenders roaming the streets, perhaps it is no surprise that the Republicans are seen by voters as the party that cares more about crime and has a better chance of tackling it. High-profile Democrats and progressives have repeatedly dismissed voters’ concerns about crime, casting the fears of regular Americans as a reflection of conservative fear-mongering. You have to wonder, is it really wise to gaslight voters in this way? Is it wise to tell them they are wrong to care about what they are telling you they care about?

  Why are Democrats expected to lose in the Nov. 8 elections? When the dust clears, people may look back at the answer Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) gave on crime during her debate against her Republican opponent, Rep. Lee Zeldin. "Halfway through the debate," Zeldin complained, "she still hasn't talked about locking up anyone committing any crimes." Hochul, who as governor has the power to remove the many New York district attorneys currently refusing to enforce the law and causing crime to spike (in New York City especially), responded by simply dismissing the issue out of hand. She asserted that there is no crime problem and that the system is working fine, and then she added, "I don't know why that's so important to you." This answer encapsulates everything that is wrong and out of touch about today's Democratic Party. It explains why Hochul is on the edge of losing a seemingly unlosable election and also why Democrats across the nation are

  Loyalty lives deep in Texas!  The Professional Bondsmen of Texas held their Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas from October 19-21.  The theme for this year was "Loyalty Lives Here!"  The dictionary defines loyalty as a strong feeling of support or allegiance.  Loyalty can have a different meaning to people, but there are common elements anytime someone speaks about loyalty.   Socrates said about loyalty, "Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant."  Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States during the Civil War, described it as the commitment which transforms a promise into reality.  Jane Austin has been quoted as saying, "There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends."   Summer Altice, noted model and actress, is quoted as saying, "I look for these qualities and characteristics in people. Honesty is number one, respect, and absolutely the third would have to be loyalty."   I

Sean Kennedy is a writer and public policy expert focusing on crime, justice, and urban policy. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, City Journal, CNN, and the Chicago Tribune, among others. In August 2021, Mr. Kennedy wrote an article entitled, "Losing the Victory Over Crime" and he joins us to discuss his article.  This article was the original idea for a series of article that appear in the Quarterly Newsletters for PBT this year. Join us as we address how our urban areas lost the victory over crime. Also available on: Apple Podcasts-            CLICK HERE Spotify-                        CLICK HERE Google Podcasts-        CLICK HERE Podcast Index-            CLICK HERE Amazon Music-          CLICK HERE Stitcher-                      CLICK HERE iHeart-                        CLICK HERE TuneIn + Alexa          CLICK HERE Podcast Addict-          CLICK HERE Podchaser-                  CLICK HERE Pocket Casts-              CLICK HERE Deezer-  

  by Ken W. Good Published October 19, 2022 Attorney at Law Magazine Crime is bad in Harris County, Texas. I mean, really bad. So bad, in fact, that even neighboring counties recognize it. On the highway between Harris County and neighboring Montgomery County there is a billboard that proclaims, “Criminals: This is Montgomery County. We Fund Law Enforcement. We Prosecute.” They mean it, too. This month in Montgomery County, two individuals were observed stealing catalytic converters from a vehicle. The suspects fled the scene and were pursued by police officers after they were confronted. Following their apprehension, it was learned that both had extensive criminal histories in the Harris County area and were driving a stolen vehicle. Upon their arrest, both suspects asked the officers if they were in Harris County, where prosecutions almost never happen. They were told, “Not today.” The two thieves’ luck had run out because they had crossed over into law-and-order Montgomery County. T

On October 12, 2022, the Texas House Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform conducted a hearing on the implementation of SB6.  The hearing was for invited testimony only.   Bronson Tucker who is the Curriculum Director for the Justice Training Center identified two issues that might need to be tweaked in SB6.  First, dealt with the issue of warrants regarding when is a bond amount placed on a warrant mandatory vs discretionary.  Second, he identified an issue regarding article 27.02 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure which applies to the situation where a defendant has a current felony case pending and then is arrested on a new felony case and is supposed to go back to the original judge to be magistrated when the two cases are pending in the same county. Testimony of Ken W. Good on behalf of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas.  Our Resources: Find the failure to appear rate for any misdemeanor court in Harris County for any date over the last two years at "Harris

  Our gravest concerns, though, involve Hidalgo’s failure to respond with urgency to Harris County’s crime wave. In a county where more than two-thirds of likely voters list public safety as the most important issue in this race, it weighed heavily on our decision. Even for those of us whose neighborhoods aren’t aglow in flashing police lights, the seemingly infinite ticker tape of suspect mug shots on the 10 o’clock news has us looking over our shoulders and praying that the next road rage incident won’t target our families. While Harris County is far from the most dangerous place in the country, as Republican hyperbole would have it, it has seen a surge in violent crime and particularly in homicides, which totaled 632 last year. The county jail is in crisis, overflowing with more than 10,000 inmates, with frequent spasms of violence, reported deaths, rapes and other assaults leaving inmates and jail staff alike fearing for their lives. Mercifully, violent crime is currently dec

PBT members Cindy Hammons-Kinder (Board member) and Deborah   K. Farmer (former board member) attended the 100th Annual County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas Conference. They are helping to get the word out about BAD bail reform. Harris County is a prime example of revolving doors, repeat offenders getting out on free bonds with a revolving door at the jail and committing even worse crimes. The crime rate in Houston is out of control. If you do would  like more information go to www.harriscountycourtwatch.org and see the real statistics.

Newmax presented a story this morning about the shocking failure to appear rates found in Harris County, Texas for the misdemeanor court following bail reform.  Their guest was PBT's own Ken W. Good.  You can listen to the presentation below.

  The October Newsletter for the Professional Bondsmen of Texas has been released.  The annual meeting of PBT is quickly approaching.  This years theme is "Loyalty Lives Here!"   Additionally, we complete our four part series on Right on Crime, Wong on Crime. We also highlight articles regarding the failure of the Harris County misdemeanor reforms and how they are causing crime to increase.   Finally, we spotlight our new and returning members.   To see more CLICK HERE .

  Right on Crime is a national campaign of the Texas Public Policy Foundation in partnerhsip with the American Conservative Union Foundation and Prison Fellowship, that supports conservative solutions for reducing crime, restoring victims, reforming offenders and lowering taxpayer costs.  The movement was born in Texas in 2007. TPPF is a conservative think tank based in Austin, Texas.  The organization was founded in 1989.   The stated mission of TPPF is "to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise in Texas and the nation by educating and affecting policymakers and the Texas public policy debate with academically sound research and outreach." TPPF does a lot of good work in Texas outside the area of pretrial criminal justice reform where the group created a nationwide project called "Right on Crime."  The Professional Bondsmen of Texas has been writing a series of articles highlighting the many failures of Right on Crime and TPPF in t

Website-  https://HarrisCountyCourtWatch.com There is a troubling problem about facts; they are simply facts. Historically, facts are not something in dispute. The facts speak for themselves. But we have entered a period where people can no longer agree on facts. We get reports that say the facts are one thing. We get other reports saying that the facts are something completely opposite to the first set of facts. In Harris County a lawsuit was filed saying that the county must change its misdemeanor criminal justice system. At the time it was a system where defendants failed to appear 10% or less of the time. After new judges were elected, the county and the judges vowed to settle the litigation and to give the plaintiffs what they wanted. So they did. The settlement did not make incremental changes to the criminal justice system. The county and the judges threw out the old system and created a new one. They argued that the new system would be a shining beacon for the rest of the count