BONDING The responsibility of the bonding officer is to assist the public. This includes answering questions and completing the bonding process. The bonding officer should be professional and courteous, always treating the public with respect. The general day to day duties can be classified into three categories: Customer service, bond preparation, and clerical duties. CUSTOMER SERVICE Provide assistance to the public. Answer questions concerning the jail (policies and procedures) Answer questions concerning inmates (bond amounts, court dates, visitation, release dates, etc.) Answer phones. Prepare proof of incarceration forms. Check in attorneys and ministers. Check in police, probation, and parole officers wishing to see inmates. Check in weekend inmates. Direct Visitors to specific areas of the jail (courtroom, visitation, warrant division). Notify Officers working in the IWF unit, Direct Supervision areas and Officers working in A or B Pods of the pending visitation. Begin property and vehicle releases. Make copies of identification cards for individuals wishing to pick up property. Assist public with leaving money for inmates. Assist with money, property and commissary releases. Ensure that all visitors entering the Jail sign in on the appropriate logs. BOND PREPARATION Assist public or bonding companies with bonding information. Prepare cash and property bonds for the public. Prepare bonds for bonding companies. Complete Bonds initiated by Cash Bond Online Inc., and check for Accuracy. Prepare transfer bonds for other counties. Prepare O.R. bonds set by the courts. Prepare juvenile court bonds. Ensure paperwork for all bonds is accurate and complete. Complete off bond paperwork. Ensure that all money is accounted for. CLERICAL DUTIES Prepare the state court citation log and ensure state court tickets are sent to Solicitors Office each weekday. Hand out in jail magistrate court calendar to attorneys. Ensure all tickets, warrants, and warrant applications are filed correctly. A list is on the bulletin board that tells the proper location to file them. Check to make sure all OTN s have been put into the computer in Police Central. Put the OTN s in the appropriate City Courts folder to be sent to the Court when the tickets are sent. State Court and Superior Court do not need copies of the OTN s. Ensure that tickets, warrants, and warrant applications for subjects that have been released are removed from the file.
Day Watch Bonding Officers will check all Criminal Warrants/Applications in the Magistrate Court file to determine if the Prosecutor(s) have been notified on the weekends. Prosecutors that have not been contacted will be notified that their Defendants are currently incarcerated and their Court Date. The Bonding Officer will then document on the Warrant/Application that the Prosecutor was notified if they notified them personally, who made the notification and the date and time of notification. If they left a message they will document that a message was left, whom the message was left with and the date and time of the notification. Ensure that the inmate worker assigned to the lobby cleans the lobby, bathrooms, and bonding office. Once the inmate is finished with their detail, the Bonding Officer will ensure that the Inmate Worker assigned to the lobby is strip searched by Jail Staff prior to reentering their Jail Cell. File all conditional bond paperwork. Correctly file all completed bonds (tray or cash box) Correctly file all arrest bookings in the Operations Box and OTN responses with the corresponding Court paperwork. Check the bulletin board daily to make sure no new names have been added to the No Bond list. When checking in Inmates to serve time they need to be logged in on the Weekend Inmate Sign in Sheet with the correct time they checked in. This will help make sure Booking has the correct time to enter into Police Central for their release time if they are serving 24 or 48 hours. If they are serving more than 48 hours then their release time will be 08:00. The Bonding Officer will also need to enter the Inmates Information on the Calendar on the Bonding Email screen. The Calendar is on the left side of the screen and once you click on the Calendar button then you would scroll to the correct date and enter in the Inmates information under the correct time for release. The Calendar automatically notifies you 15 minutes prior to the time you entered into the computer. If you would like a notification sooner, you can change the time of notification by clicking on the information you just entered. When it pulls up, there will be a reminder button that will already have 15 minutes in it. You would scroll through the times and select the one that you would like. There is also a picture of a bell next to it and this allows you to have an audible alert when the reminder is due. This is a backup tool to make sure that someone does not get overlooked for release by the GCIC Operator. It is up to the Bonding Officer to check the To Be Printed Binder every time someone is turning themselves in to serve time. They will be in alphabetical order by their last name. This is just an aide for the Booking Officer and will not cover every case. Not every Clerk sends a copy but it will at least help to cut down on the mistakes. Even if the person has already served several weekends this file needs to be checked because sometimes the Clerk will not notice someone was not printed until after the person has already been serving time. PROPERTY BONDS When approving a property bond, the property must be located in Henry County. All persons on the property deed must be present with a state issued ID or valid passport and be at least 18 years old. If someone has passed away, we will accept a death certificate. The following documents can be used to complete a property bond: A stamped copy of a warranty deed, a stamped copy of a security deed, stamped copy of a quit claim deed or the most recent property tax statement. If none of the above are in the Security s possession, you can also go to the Henry County Board of Commissioner s website under Property Information and print the property information sheet or select Property Tax Inquiry and print the most recent property tax statement and attach it to the bond. Do not turn the Security away if these documents are available through the county website. Check the County website to make sure they do not have back taxes due.
Strongly encourage the security to produce the most recent mortgage statement. Although it is not necessary, it will contain information that will assist you in determining how much equity exists in the property. To approve the bond, they must have 2 times the bond amount in equity. Equity can be determined by subtracting the amount owed on the property and any 2 nd mortgages from the actual property value. Check the Bond Summary Report to make sure they are not on any other Bonds that would over extend their equity. You can sort the Bond Summary Report by last name of Security to check and see if they have done any other Property Bonds. You would add these together and deduct them from the amount of equity in the home. If you are not able to access the required documents or if there is not enough equity in the property, notify a supervisor for approval. Bonding Officers can approve bonds up to $25,000. The Captain and Major must approve bonds over $25,000 up to $50,000. $50,000 or over must be approved by the Chief or Sheriff. If the bond has been approved, you will make copies of all the paperwork and ID s updating the addresses if needed and collecting a phone number. Have the securities fill out a bond application form (See hand out). Make sure the information on the bond application form is correct and up to date. You will then type the bond on the appropriate form. Each city has separate bond forms. These will include the cities of Hampton, McDonough, and Locust Grove. All other bonds are to be typed on the county property bond. These will include Superior, State, Magistrate and City of Stockbridge. After typing the bond, you will sign the bond, print your name and employee #, and then have the security sign it. Collect a $20 processing fee from the security and write a receipt giving them the white copy. You then enter the bond information into Police Central and into the Bond Summary spreadsheet. Contact Central Control to run a wanted check on the person being bonded (Principal) and if they are clear have him/her brought to Booking for release. If during this time, the security decides not to go ahead with the bond, it is your responsibility to remove the bond information from Police Central and the Bond Summary Report and notify Central Control to stop the inmate from being released. When the person is released, you will have them, the principal, sign the bond. Verify that all information on the bond including addresses and phone numbers are correct by asking the principal. Inform them of their court date and they are free to go. Advise them if they move then they will have to advise the court of their new address so they can get their court notification in the mail. You then put together the bond, the bond paperwork, the bond application form, and the court paperwork (warrants, tickets, etc.) and file it in the appropriate location. There is a list on the bulletin board that explains where the paperwork will be filed. The $20 bond fee along with the yellow receipt is secured together and dropped in the BROWN cash box in jail reception. When approving a bond, make sure that the letters ET AL do not appear with the property owners names on the Tax Assessor s web site. Et Al stands for and others. If ET AL does appear, you must contact the Tax Assessor s Office and verify how many people are on the deed. All persons on the deed will have to appear and sign the bond.
If it is after hours, contact your supervisor and inform them of the situation. Also check the County website to make sure that there are no outstanding taxes on the property. If they are in arrears the bond must be approved by a Supervisor. If the charges are felony charges and have a pre-trial hearing and they bond out before that hearing, you will make a copy of the bond and put the original bond with a copy of the court paperwork in Sherry s tray and a copy of the bond will be placed with the original paperwork. The copy of the bond and the original Court paperwork will be filed in the appropriate folder to go to Magistrate Court as usual. If they were scheduled for a hearing on Saturday and they bond out before then, they will be set up to come back on Monday. Saturday Magistrate Court is for people in custody only. BONDING COMPANIES We have three approved bonding companies. Names of the representatives from the companies will be listed in the jail reception area. They will call and notify you if they are approving a bond. You will type the bond on the appropriate form with the appropriate information. You will not need any paperwork from the bonding representatives such as warranty/security deeds or tax statements. Once the representative arrives and signs the bond, you will then take receipt of the $20 processing fee. You will enter the bond information in Police Central and the Bond Summary report and notify Central Control just as you do with a property bond. Once the person is released you will have them sign the bond under Principal. Verify that all information on the bond including addresses and phone numbers are correct by asking the principal. After all signatures are on the bond, you will make a copy for the bonding company. As with the property bond, if the bonding company decides not to do the bond, it is your responsibility to clear the bond information out of Police Central and the Bond Summary Report in the computer and notify Central Control. Once the bond is complete, pull all available paperwork from the appropriate court files and attach them to the bond. Place that paperwork in the appropriate administrative tray. The $20 fee and receipt is to be dropped in the BROWN cash box. The same rules will apply to these bonds as to the Property Bonds for Magistrate Hearings. BONDSMAN OFF BOND After bonding someone out of jail, the security can later change their mind and go off the bond. They can do this in two different ways. They can bring the person back to jail and turn them in. During business hours contact the specified court to ensure that the Off Bond Charges are still pending. If this happens, you will fill out a bondsman off bond form (see hand out). This form will include the person s name, charges, and bond amount. You will then sign the form and have the security sign it. All the original signers on the property bond must also sign the off bond form. Any representative from the bonding company can sign for them. After getting all of the required signatures, make two copies. One copy will go to the security. The other copy will be given to the booking officer who you will contact to escort the individual back to booking to be re-booked and given an opportunity to bond out again. The original copy will be placed in Sherry s tray in the bonding office.
The second way to come off a bond is when the principal has been arrested by another agency and the security wants to come off of their bond. They will need to know where the principal is incarcerated. During business hours contact the specified court to ensure that the Off Bond Charges are still pending. You will then contact the GCIC operator and have them send an AM message confirming that the person is in their facility and that our agency wishes to place a hold for that individual. You do not sign the off bond form until the GCIC operator has received an AM message confirming this. Once you receive the confirmation that a hold has been placed, you can fill out a bondsman off bond form. This requires the principal s name, charges, bond amounts, and the agency that they are incarcerated in. You will sign the form and the security must sign also. Also print your name and employee #. All the original signers on the property bond must also sign the form. Any representative from the bonding company can sign. After all signatures, you will make two copies. One copy will go with the security and the second will be attached with the AM message that confirmed the hold and they will be placed in the warrant tray in the bonding office. The original will be placed in Sherry s tray in the bonding office. CASH BONDS If someone is paying cash to bond someone out, they must have a state issued ID or passport and be at least 18 years old. You will make a copy of the ID and update any information on the ID if needed, including a phone number. You will take the money from the security, counting the money in front of them. Caution should be taken to avoid receiving counterfeit bills. If the amount of the cash bond is $10,000 or more then you will need to notify someone from the Flint Circuit Drug Task Force. Notify a Supervisor and have them check the black binder in the Supervisors Office for a list of the FCDTF on call agents. The Supervisor will contact the on call Agent. If they are having a hard time, they can contact Radio Dispatch and have them contact the person on call. Write a receipt for the bond amount and a separate receipt for the $20 processing fee. Give the security the white copies. Cash bonds no matter what court are always typed on a cash bond form. After typing the bond with the appropriate information, have the security sign the bond. Cash bonds for all courts must also have the security and principal sign a cash authorization form (see hand out). The Cash Authorization Form states what the intention is for the money that was paid. Whether they want it used for bond purposes only or used to help pay any fines. Type the bond on the cash bond form with the appropriate information. Once the security signs the bond, you enter the bond information in Police Central and the Bond Summary Report and notify Central Control. Once the person is released, they sign the bond as the principal. Unless it is cash by self then they will sign under principal and security. Verify that all information on the bond including addresses and phone numbers are correct by asking the principal. Collect the bond, copies of ID s, receipt and court paperwork, and place in an envelope. Use more than one envelope if needed.
Fill out all appropriate information on the outside of the envelope and drop it in the BROWN cash bond box along with the $20 processing fee and receipt. If the charges are felony charges and have a pre-trial hearing and they bond out before that hearing, you will make a copy of the bond and put the original bond with the monies in the envelope and drop it in the safe and a copy will be placed with the original paperwork. The copy of the bond and the original Court paperwork will be filed in the appropriate folder to go to Magistrate Court as usual. If they were scheduled for a hearing on Saturday and they bond out before then, they will be set up to come back on Monday. Saturday Magistrate Court is for people in custody only. TRANSFER BONDS Transfer bonds are done when the security s property is located in Henry County but the principal is incarcerated in a facility located in another county within the state of Georgia. Get the principals name and the name of the facility they are located in. Contact that facility and get the charges, court type, court date, bond amount, address and phone number of the principal. Ask the other agency if one bond is sufficient or if they require a separate bond for each charge. As with property bonds, everyone on the deed must be present with ID s and the proper paperwork. The property must have 2 times the amount of the bond in equity. Make copies of all paperwork and ID s. Have the security fill out the transfer bond information form (see handout). If the bond is approved, type the bond and have the security sign it. Highlight where the principal needs to sign. Seal the bond, the bond application form and all other paperwork in an envelope with our letterhead on it. Stamp the envelope with our seal and send it with the security to the other agency. Inform the security that the envelope must arrive at the other agency unopened and it must not be tampered with. Collect a $20 processing fee. Inform the security that the bonds are only good for 24 hours and that the other agency may have restrictions on who can bring the bonds. CASH BOND ONLINE Cash Bond Online Inc., processes cash bonds for individuals by credit card transactions. These Cash Bonds will be forwarded to the Bonding Office in two different ways. A copy of the Online Cash Bond will be faxed to the printer in the Bonding Area. A 2 nd Copy of the Online Cash Bond will be emailed to the bonding email address which is bonding@co.henry.ga.us which will be received on the main computer in the Bonding Area. Once the bond is received you can either print a copy from the email or from the fax machine. You will then verify that all information including the principal s name, bond amount, court type, and charges are correct. Fill in all other required fields on the bond including the court date, principal s address and phone number and check for accuracy. Verify that all information on the bond including addresses and phone numbers are correct by asking the principal. Contact Online Cash Bond Inc., at 1-888-726-6310 for any corrections that need to be made on the bond. Have them to resend the bond if necessary. Have the Principal sign the bond. The Security s name will be a digital signature and they do not have to be present or sign the bond. Sign and date as the Officer acting on behalf of the Sheriff. Print a copy of the receipt and provide it to the principal.
There will be no need to collect a bond fee. This fee has already been collected by Cash Bond Online Inc. Attach all of the original paperwork including traffic citations, warrant, and warrantless application etc., to the bond and place it in the Brown Cash Bond Box. If the charges are felonies and have a pre-trial hearing and they bond out before that hearing, you will make a copy of the bond and a copy of the original court paperwork. Put the original bond and a copy of the court paperwork in the Brown Cash Bond Box. The copy of the bond and the original paperwork will be filed in the appropriate folder (filing cabinet) to go to the Magistrate Court as usual. If they were scheduled for a hearing on Saturday and they bond out before then, they will be set up to come back on Monday. Saturday Magistrate Court is for people in custody only. BOND SUMMARY REPORT After a bond is finished, Make sure the Bond Summary Report is completed. This is done for all bonds (cash, property, bonding company & transfer bonds). The bond summary report is located on the computers desktop and requires the following information: Securities last name and first name, name of defendant, address of property used, mailing address, bond type, court type, court date, bond amount, off bond date, date bond cleared and approval officer. The bond summary report should be saved after each entry. This report is viewable by anyone in administration, and is used to track the various bonds done in Henry County. This report allows for Bonding Officers to check individuals to see how many property bonds have been done on a particular address in Henry County. This allows the Officer to make sure the Security has enough equity to perform the bond. The easiest way to search the Bond Summary Report is to click on the Data tab at the top of the screen, click on Sort and then use the arrow button to sort by Security s last name. This will put all of them in alphabetical order by the Security s last name and you can view all of the bonds they have performed. This needs to be checked with every Property Bond to ensure we do not have any more people acting as Bonding Companies or people that do not have enough equity due to being on several bonds. OUT OF COUNTY BONDS These are property bonds that are approved by other counties for people incarcerated in the Henry County jail. When you receive a transfer bond, the bond should come in an envelope with the other county s seal on the outside. If the envelope looks like it has been tampered with, you can contact that agency to verify the bond. After opening the envelope, check the information on it to make sure it matches the information in Police Central. If it does not, contact that agency and see if it can be fixed over the phone. If it cannot, the person must return to that agency to do another bond. If it can be fixed over the phone, make all corrections and initial by them with the name of the person from the other agency that approved the corrections. Make sure that the security on a transfer bond is an individual and not a bonding company. We do not accept out of county bonding companies. Enter the bond information into Police Central and the Bond Summary Report then contact Central Control. When the principal is released to sign the bond, make sure that they have signed all appropriate spaces. Some bonds have more than one place for them to sign.
Place the bond together with the court paperwork, if any, and file it in the appropriate location. No bond fee is needed. TAKING BOND MONEY FOR OTHER AGENCIES On rare occasions, we will accept the bond money for people in the Henry County Jail, but are wanted by another agency. On these occasions, make contact by GCIC with the other agency and verify that they will allow this to happen. If the other agency approves it, ask them to send us an AM message approving it and supply us with all pertinent information such as the agency s name, address, name of person to receive the money etc. We will take a photo and fingerprint them under the other agencies ORI on their charges. We charge the Security a $25.00 processing fee. We will need to fax a copy of our Profile Sheet, fingerprints and the receipt to the other Agency. They need our information to book the person in, in their facility. Drop the bond money, bond, receipt, pertinent information, teletype, prints, and profile picture in the cash box for Sherry Smith. She will then forward it to the other agency. Drop the $25.00 processing fee and receipt in the cash box in reception. Enter the bond information in Police Central and the Bond Summary Report and notify Central Control. CASH PAY OUTS Cash pay outs are done when someone has been sentenced by a judge to pay a fine before being released. Several types include VOP s, FTA s, child support warrants, and fines levied by the court. VOP s-if someone pays a fine for someone who has a VOP pay off, first make a copy of the person s ID verifying the address and phone number. Second, write a receipt for the payment and give them the white copy. Third, enter the information in Police Central and the Bond Summary Report and notify Central Control. If you still have the warrant, place it, a copy of the ID, money, and receipt in a cash envelope. If you do not have a copy of the Warrant, print a copy of the profile report and a copy of the charges to put in the envelope. To print the charges only, highlight the charge then click details, in that screen click on reports and it will say there are no reports in this context, click ok and then press the CTRL button and P together to print. Fill in the appropriate information on the envelope and drop the envelope in the cash box in reception. If the person that pays the money at reception states that the money is the inmates, then write the receipts as if the inmate paid the fine themselves. If the VOP is a state court VOP, you do not have to type a bond anymore. The same rule applies as other cash pay outs. If the VOP cash payout is paid at the Probation Office, verify receipt of the payment by having the Probation Officer fax a copy of the receipt and that the person may be released on that charge. FTA s-usually will have fine amounts or bond amounts. If the FTA has a fine amount, you follow the same rules as a VOP fine. If the FTA has a bond amount, you follow the same rules as a cash bond. The main difference on a FTA bond is that if it is specified on the warrant release with a court date, you call radio (770-957-5200) and get the next available court date for that particular court. Remember this is only done if it says release with a court date. Make a copy of the FTA Bond with the added court date. The original FTA will be placed in the envelope with the cash bond.
The copy will be placed in the FTA folder for documentation that a court date was given to the defendant. Fill out the appropriate information on the envelope and drop it in the cash box in reception. If the cash payment is made at the Child Support Recovery Office, have them fax a copy of the receipt prior to releasing the person from custody. If the person was sentenced at court, you usually will not have any court paperwork to go in the envelope. Court Fines-If someone has received a fine at court, you will follow the same rules. If someone wants to pay the fine, make a copy of the ID, write that person a receipt and give them the white copy. If the money is the inmate s, write a receipt in the inmate s name and give them the white copy. Enter the information in both programs on the computer and contact Central Control. Place the monies, the copy of the ID, the receipt, and any other paperwork in a cash envelope. Fill out the appropriate information on the envelope then drop it in the cash box in reception. CHILD ABANDONMENT A person is no longer able to bond out at our facility on a Child Abandonment charge. That fine must be paid at the Child Support Recovery Office. Once the fine is paid at the Child Support Office they will notify the Magistrate Court and then the Magistrate Court will notify us that the Defendant may be released. Get them to fax a copy of the release so it can be placed in the Inmates jail file for our records. O.R. BONDS If a Judge, District Attorney or Solicitor says that someone can be released on an O.R. Bond, then you would type a bond on the property bond form that is appropriate for the Court type. (Superior, State, Magistrate and Stockbridge on the Green Property Form and all City Courts on their Property Bond Form) There are two standing Court Orders that give O.R. Bonds for certain charges. One is out of State Court and the other is out of Stockbridge Court. The State Court charges that are eligible for an O.R. Bond are Marijuana less than one oz (16-13- 2(B), Criminal Trespass (16-7-21) and Theft by Shoplifting (16-8-14). If these charges are written on a UTC (ticket) and they live in the State of Georgia then they are eligible for an O.R. Bond. They do not have to live in Henry County to receive this bond. The Stockbridge Court charges that are eligible for an O.R. Bond are Disorderly Conduct (11.04.010), Disorderly Conduct (11.04.020), Drunk in Public (11.04.030), Obstruction of Officer (11.04.040), and Possession of Alcohol in Public Place (11.04.110). If these charges are written on a UTC (ticket) they are eligible for an O.R. Bond. They are eligible to have an O.R. Bond on any combination of these charges but they cannot have an O.R. Bond if it is not one of these five charges. After the O.R. Bonds are typed then you would follow the same procedure for release as any other Bond. Contact Central Control for them to check if the Inmate is clear to be released and place all paperwork in Sherry s box. JUVENILE BONDS Check the Juvenile Bond Folder in the file cabinet to see if there is a sheet faxed by Juvenile Court authorizing a Bond for a Juvenile. If there is a sheet, proceed with the property bond as you normally would with the exception that you would call the RYDC and fax them a copy of the Bond when it is complete. After you complete the Bond you would still enter in the information into the Bond Summary Report. The most common one we deal with is Metro RYDC and their phone number is 404 624-2448 and their fax number is 404 635-4453.