NCJ Number
87537
Date Published
1982
Length
325 pages
Annotation
The study examines the role of the bail bondsmen in the criminal justice system and the social consequences of occupying that role for individual bondsmen.
Abstract
The bail bondsman's occupation is defined as deviant and hence bail bondsmen are discredited. This allows the occupation to be used as an object of blame for perceived breakdowns in the criminal justice system. Bondsmen who believe themselves to be falsely accused of deviance are likely to find themselves socially isolated, rejected by respectable society, and rejecting association with others who they believe may bring disrepute upon them. Social isolation as an adaptation to deviance contradicts the forms of adaptation which previous studies in the sociology of deviance predict is likely to occur: the subcultural or organizational affiliation of the deviant with other deviants. The study used participant observation, intensive and extensive interviewing, and a national sample survey to provide a detailed ethnography and description of bail bondsmen's work and attitudes toward themselves and others. Footnotes, study instruments, a sample bail bond application, and about 170 references are supplied. (Author abstract modified)