Why do people jump bail?

Lately, a lot of people come here looking for the answer to that question. That's easy: Because they figure it's better than the alternative.

Usually, it ain't. But that's only if they're caught.

Some statistics, which is what the web traffic is probably really about:

There are no reliable numbers from the U.S., probably because of the decentralized nature of the U.S. criminal justice system.All of the academic work seems to be based on educated (and maybe not so educated) guesses. The number 35,000 per year appears in a bunch of sources on the internet, and was used by the BBC a while back in a report, but once you dig down you can't find any indication that it's anything but a WAG.

According to my friends in the, uh, profession, the number of people jumping bail is relatively low because bail bondsmen are pretty careful about who they post bonds for. (What about people who skip on ROR - released on their own recognizance - or who posted their own bail? "Whud the @#$#$ would I know?" responded one of my sources. "You buyin' that beer you promised, or what?")

There are statistics in the UK, which has a different criminal justice system. Counting everyone - traffic scofflaws to mass murderers - on the order of 38,000 people skip in a typical year. Ninety percent are caught within a few months.

So that's what I know. Good luck with your term paper. Thank you for visiting; come back as often as you wish.

Now back to the regularly scheduled mayhem.

Presented as a public service, and an excuse to bs with old friends. Thanks to Bounty Hunter Bob, Scranton, Jersey City Jones, and Google.