Bail / Bond / "Fee" - The cost of being released from jail?

Question

A friend was arrested by the police for an alleged crime, and they told me I could pick her up for $40. I asked if that was the bond or bail, and they said it was "the fee".

They only accepted cash, they didn't give me a receipt, and I asked if that money gets returned to me when she is proven innocent and they told me no.

I was told I was waiting for the bondsman to show up. I asked again and was told the money not a bond, but a "fee".

What the heck did I just pay for? I thought when you get arrested and want be released you get two option; pay the bond or pay the bail.

So my questions are:
1) Did I pay a bond instead of a "fee"?
2) Is it legal for a police department to only offer you the option of a bond and not allow you to opt for the full bail? If no, do I have recourse to sue to get my money back since I wasn't offer the chance to pay bail?

Seems like the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are just two pieces of paper in the way of police departments getting extra revenue

I was told it was a "fee", not a bond payment.

I specifically asked if I could pay the BAIL, and was given a look by the desk clerk that suggested I was dumber than a rock. He told me that I must not be understanding him, and that the money to be given was "not bond nor bail" but rather a "fee" that "was NOT refunded nor refundable".

Then they called in a bondsman that I had to wait an hour for. But yet I was told no BOND was being placed, and just a FEE was being levied, so what need is there of a bondsman to be there?

So okay, maybe perhaps the POLICE aren't getting the money. Maybe the BONDSMAN is. But is there any legitimate reason to try to deceive me about a bond being instead a "fee", and refusing me to allow to post the full bail myself? The only reason that seems like they would want me to post bond instead of bail would be to support the bondsman, which is equally immoral/unethical/illegal.

Answer 1

Answer to question 1. The fee you paid was the processing fee that each jail in the US has. The processing fee is doing the paperwork and putting that person in the system.

Question 2. You can only post bond for that person to get out of jail. Since they were arrested, it was for a felony and they have to appear in front of the judge on the court date given. The police department only gets a small amount of the money that is paid towards the bond and the set bail. The rest of it goes to the county where the offense occurred. I know in Illinois, whatever your bail is set to for example 10,000, bond is 10% of bail, which means you pay 1,000.

Answer 2

Once a person is placed in jail...the US Constitution allows a person the ability to "bond" out of jail or "post bond."

There is an amount of money established by the court that allows you to get out of jail until their court date. This money is ones "promise to appear" in court for the privilege of not waiting in jail before the court date.

The police do NOT receive this money! If one fails to show up at court...the money is forfeited to the court...NOT the police!

There are different types of bonds...property, cash, professional, and signature bonds.

Many people don't have property or cash to "post" as bond therefore they go to a professional bonding company that provides the cash amount to get you out of jail. You still pay an amount for their professional services.

As an example, your bond is set at $10,000.00. The professional bonding company insures the amount to the court yet charges you $100.00 for their service.

Many don't understand that if you put up your OWN cash...you get that back once the judge releases you from your bond.

Hope this helps....best wishes!