The Professional Bondsmen of Texas- Blog

  Mexican cartels are behind the spike in organized retail crime and are deeply entrenched in every level of the process, according to the federal government's chief investigative agency. Retailers nationwide sustained nearly $100 billion worth of losses in 2021, the highest year on record, according to the National Retail Federation report published in September 2022. The growing number of cartel-run theft rings around the country drove that figure up from $70 billion in 2019. "Organized retail crime is leading to more brazen and more violent attacks in retail stores throughout the country. Many of the criminal rings orchestrating these thefts are also involved in other serious criminal activity such as human trafficking, narcotics trafficking, weapon trafficking, and more," said Steve Francis, acting executive associate director for Homeland Security Investigations, in a statement. HSI is part of the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcem...

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot attributed her election loss to racism and sexism in comments to reporters Tuesday night, glossing over the impact of violent crime, which surged in the windy city during her tenure. “I’m a black woman in America. Of course,” she replied when asked by a reporter if she had been treated unfairly, according to the New York Post. Lightfoot neglected to mention that Johnson is also black. Lightfoot is the first black woman and the first openly gay person to lead the nation’s third-largest city. She has been heavily criticized for the rampant crime in Chicago and the demonization of the police. While Lightfoot initially supported cutting the city’s police budget, she has since pivoted. Violent crime in the city increased by 40 percent since she was elected in 2019 on a promise to bring down crime rates, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. To see more CLICK HERE . Commentary-  Question:  When we elect someone based upon identity politics, do the voters ever ...

  Over the past two years, Democrats who embraced a liberal criminal justice agenda at the city level have found themselves increasingly unwelcome among voters who once applauded their views. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot became the latest liberal leader to discover Democratic voters have soured on the Left’s leniency on crime when she became the first mayor of her city in 40 years to lose reelection this week. In Atlanta, for example, former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms surprised political observers when she decided in 2021 not to run for reelection, announcing that it was “time to pass the baton on to someone else."  A crime wave in Atlanta sapped her political goodwill, however, and the race among the Democrats vying to replace her centered on which candidate was prepared to crack down more aggressively on crime.   In Seattle, former Mayor Jenny Durkan filed paperwork to run for reelection in early 2020.  But the violence of that summer in Seattle — and her failure t...

Tillmin Welch have been a bondsmen for over 30 years.  He is a past president of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas.  He is a former board member.  He has been honored as Bondsmen of The Year and has been awarded a honorary lifetime membership.  He is also the former long serving chair of the PBT Legislative Committee.  Join us as we discuss how PBT has navigated past legislative sessions. Tillmin also discusses how he has helped families to get loved ones to change from their ways to get a way from drugs and gangs.  Even in retirement, Tillmin is active in prison ministries and continues to mentor to men in prison. Also available on: Apple Podcasts-            CLICK HERE Spotify-                        CLICK HERE Google Podcasts-        CLICK HERE Podcast Index-            CLICK ...

  Bail Reform is based upon an assumption that we hear all the time that people do not need a private surety bondsman because they will appear for court anyway.   A new study demonstrates that this is simply not true. Zero-dollar bail: It's a controversial topic. Last year, a local study from the Yolo County DA's office found 70% of suspects released on zero-dollar bail, reoffended. But were they "more likely" to re-offend? An updated study indicates the answer is yes.  A progressive district attorney conducted a study indicating that people are more likely to commit additional crime if they were simply released.  The original study was criticized because there was no data for individuals released on surety bonds for a comparison.  Now this data has been compiled and the study has been updated.  The new study compared the rearrest rate of suspects who were released without posting bail in Yolo County, to those who had to post surety bail. The data...

  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 ab...

  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 Count...

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.

"It's flat out ridiculous that we're allowing this to happen in Harris County, and we're not going to hold anyone accountable anymore," said Doug Griffith, President of the Houston Police Officers Union. Miranda O'Donnel, a woman with a laundry list of misdemeanor charges and mug shots, is the reason a federal judge mandated no cash bonds for Harris County residents charged with misdemeanors. District Attorney Kim Ogg and the Houston Police Union compiled data showing a lot of defendants weren't even showing up for court. The Professional Bondsmen of Texas took an even deeper dive into court records covering the period from January 1, 2021, through August 2022 "The average failure to appear rate in misdemeanor courts, all 16 of them, is over 80%," said Ken W. Good, member of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas. Good says many misdemeanor courts take no action against those who fail to appear. He says the data shows 71% of all misdemeanor cases are...

  Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for governor in New York, vowed on Sunday to fire liberal Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on his first day in office and reiterated criticism of his opponent, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, for standing by the state’s controversial bail reform law.  "Democrats – just like Republicans and Independents – are fed up with not feeling safe on our streets," Zeldin said during an appearance on Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures."  "My first act on my first day in office is telling the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg that he’s going to be fired," he continued. "Here in New York, we’ve seen cashless bail as a failure. It’s caused crime to increase. It needs to be repealed. Judges need discretion to weigh dangerousness. It is pro-criminal laws and DA’s refusing to their jobs, judges refusing to do theirs in some other cases and people less safe as a result."  Overall crime in New York is up by nearl...

  A couple of days ago, PBT released the 19th episode of its podcast, The Bail Post.  No press release was issued, it was just the normal podcast.  PBT has other episodes covering this issue.  Episode No. 11 covered the release of the report by the Houston Police Officers' Uniton.  You can see the episode by CLICKING HERE .  Episode No. 11 involved a report that addressed a one week period of time. In Episode No. 18, PBT announced a release of episode number 18 which addressed a new website that reviewed and downloaded the county's data and organized on a interactive website.  The podcast can be found by CLICKING HERE .  The video version of the podcast can be found on youtube by CLICKING HERE . You can see the video on Facebook by CLICKING HERE . You can go to the website by CLICKING HERE . The county is now saying that they do not know where PBT got its data, but it is not accurate.  They support this argument on the grounds that February 4...

  Several months ago, the Harris County Bail Bond Board adopted a new local rule that requires bondsmen to collect 10% of the face amount of certain bonds before the bond is posted.  In the short span of several months there have been some significant and quick ramifications as a result of the board's actions. On this episode join the discussion with our Guest Representative Gene Newman.   Gene is the District 61 elected representative for the Mississippi House of Representatives.  Gene also is a second generation bondsman with over 40 years experience.  In addition, he has degrees in economics and criminal justice.  Representative Newman also has an indepth knowledge of how bail works in Texas and has visited many bail bond board meetings over the years. Find out why the Harris County sheriff recently asked for an additional $25 million from the commissioners to address what he called unsustainable jail overcrowding.  Lina Hidalgo, who is the Har...

J.R. Woolley is the Justice of the Peace of Precinct 2 for Waller County, Texas.  Judge Wooley is also the Legislative Committee Chair of the Justices of the Peace Association and he testifies before the legislature about bills that may impact the association. On this episode of the Bail Post, Judge Woolley talks about the implementation of SB6 which is the major Criminal Justice Reform/Bail Reform Bill passed by the Texas Legislature in the most recent session and special sessions. On this episode of The Bail Post Justice of the Peace J.R. Woolley discusses magistrates magistrating magistration. Also available on: Apple Podcasts-            CLICK HERE Spotify-                        CLICK HERE Google Podcasts-        CLICK HERE Podcast Index-            CLICK HERE Amazon Music-     ...

  Even lefty Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg wanted him behind bars. A shoplifter with 122 busts under his belt was released on his own recognizance Wednesday thanks to controversial bail reform laws Bragg typically defends — and the DA’s office told The Post that even prosecutors would have asked for pre-trial detention if they could. In the latest reported case of lax city crime policies run amok, accused serial shoplifter Lorenzo McLucas, 34, was nabbed for stealing from the cosmetics counter at a Duane Reade on Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, according to cops and court documents. Bragg’s office told The Post that it would have requested McLucas be detained if it could, keeping in line with the DA’s recent announcement that he wanted to clamp down on serial shoplifters. “We cannot accept a system where individuals who shoplift again and again cycle in and out of jail, just to shoplift again,’’ Bragg had said in a June 17 statement — two days before city business owners revealed...