After an arrest, the police can do two things. They can agree to allow you to go home with a ticket and assurance that the person will appear at the court on the specified date. The arrested person needs to provide this in a written promise to abide by the conditions stipulated in the release order. Or they can send the offender to jail. 

To escape jail term and walk out free after an arrest, you must post a bail which is a financial deposit made with the court.  The court decides on the bail amount, and once you deposit the money or a certain percentage that the court agrees, you are free to walk out from jail.

However, posting the bail amount is often not within the means of defendants. So to facilitate their release, they can seek the services of a bond agent who becomes a surety for the bond. The bond agent collects 10 or 20% of the bond amount from the defendant or his or her representative, the agent posts the bail to ensure release. The defendant must have enough money to offer as security to the agent who will otherwise insist for collaterals like securities, electronics, and jewelry. In exchange, the bond agent stays committed to pay the amount in case the defendant does not make a court appearance. 

Bail bond agents are licensed professionals in the United States as the license is a requirement for most states. The license is more for property and casualty insurance rather than for bonding purpose. Bail bond agents must meet the required educational qualification to become eligible for a license. It allows them to operate as a bail bondsman appointed by an insurance company for writing bail bonds. 

The agent collects money from the defendant for writing bonds and then pays a premium to the insurance company.  If a defendant disappears or does not appear at the court, the bond agent must pay up on their behalf. Bail bondsmen can post a blanket bond by entering into such an arrangement with the local court. That allows them to do away with depositing cash every time they work with a client. Violation of the bail conditions by the defendant will result in the court collecting the money from the bond.

Bail bond agents must ensure that the defendant appears in court on the specified date and they can take monitor the person to ensure that he or she checks in without fail. If needed, the bond agent may even deploy a guard to keep watch on the defendant, but it happens only in some extreme case. It is discretionary for bond agents to post bail for the defendant by judging their reliability. They may even refuse to post bail if the person is not dependable. 

Failing to appear at the court by the defendant will result in the court issuing a bench warrant followed by forfeiting the defendant's bail.  After issuance of the bail warrant, a bail bond agent can hire a bounty hunter to chase the defendant and recover a percentage of the bail that the court forfeited. 

Get the guidance from a criminal defense attorney to reach out to any bail bond agent.