PBUS

08/30/2026

To all of our new followers, welcome to PBUS. We appreciate you joining a growing national conversation about professional bail, public safety, accountability, and the criminal justice system. This page is not here simply to add another post to your news feed. We want you to read what we share, ask questions, offer your perspective, and take part in the discussion.

PBUS represents a profession that works every day inside America’s criminal justice system, and many of the issues we discuss affect far more than bail agents. They affect defendants, victims, families, courts, law enforcement, taxpayers, and communities across the country. Your voice adds value to that conversation. Comment when you agree, challenge us when you do not, share information that deserves a larger audience, and help us make these discussions stronger.

The reach of social media means an important message no longer has to remain inside one profession or one state. Every comment, share, and thoughtful conversation helps extend that message to people who may never have heard our side of the story before.

Welcome to PBUS. Don’t just follow the page. Be part of the conversation.
www.pbus.com

08/30/2026

A look at the compensation, funding, and organizational ties behind the movement to abolish professional bail — and what its own IRS filings, corporate marketing, and contract records show.

A cottage industry has grown up around the idea that professional bail is cruel, unnecessary, and worth abolishing. Organizations like the Vera Institute of Justice, the Bail Project, the Brennan Center for Justice, and Arnold Ventures have built national platforms on this premise, positioning themselves as disinterested reformers speaking for the voiceless. Yet a look at their own IRS Form 990 filings tells a different story about who benefits most from the anti-bail movement: the people running it. These are not scrappy grassroots efforts. They are well-funded institutions whose leadership draws salaries most working Americans will never see, funded in part by foundations with hundreds of millions in assets, all while campaigning against an industry that operates on private money and imposes no cost on taxpayers.

When this article first ran on July 1, it focused on one side of the ledger: who runs and funds the movement to end professional bail. Since then, criminal justice researcher JL Fullerton’s seven-part series, The Business of Bail Reform — spotlighted by AIA Surety on July 14, 2026 https://www.aiasurety.com/bail/the-business-of-bail-reform/ — has documented the other side: who gets paid once professional bail is gone. This updated edition adds his findings to the record. Two independent examinations, one conclusion.

https://mike-morrison-public-safety-and-accountability.ghost.io/follow-the-money-who-really-profits-from-ending-cash-bail/

Earlier this year, criminal justice researcher, JL Fullerton, wrote a groundbreaking article series entitled, “The Business of Bail Reform.”

08/29/2026

When PBUS set new goals and higher standards to become the leading national voice for the professional bail industry, we took that responsibility seriously. The power of social media is not measured by how many posts we make; it is measured by how far the message travels and how many people it reaches beyond our own profession. One PBUS post has now generated 203,637 views from 103,020 viewers, with 7,475 engagements, 4,365 reactions, 1,313 clicks, 77 comments and an extraordinary 1,254 shares. Most importantly, 99.8% of those views came from non-followers. That means more than 203,000 views were generated outside the audience already following PBUS. We are not simply talking to ourselves anymore. We are reaching the American public.

Those numbers demonstrate what can happen when professional bail speaks with a united voice, a united vision and united leadership. Every day across America, defendants released through professional surety bail appear in court, cases move forward, victims receive their opportunity for justice and bail agents fulfill the responsibility they accepted when they signed the bond. That success has existed for generations, but we must be willing to tell that story. Social media gives PBUS the ability to put facts directly in front of tens of thousands of people who may never have heard our side of the criminal justice debate. More than 1,250 people thought this single message was important enough to share with someone else. That is how a national voice is built, and it is proof of what the bail profession can accomplish when we work together.

08/29/2026

When PBUS set new goals and higher standards to become the leading national voice for the professional bail industry, we took that responsibility seriously. The power of social media is not measured by how many posts we make; it is measured by how far the message travels and how many people it reaches beyond our own profession. One PBUS post has now generated 203,637 views from 103,020 viewers, with 7,475 engagements, 4,365 reactions, 1,313 clicks, 77 comments and an extraordinary 1,254 shares. Most importantly, 99.8% of those views came from non-followers. That means more than 203,000 views were generated outside the audience already following PBUS. We are not simply talking to ourselves anymore. We are reaching the American public.

Those numbers demonstrate what can happen when professional bail speaks with a united voice, a united vision and united leadership. Every day across America, defendants released through professional surety bail appear in court, cases move forward, victims receive their opportunity for justice and bail agents fulfill the responsibility they accepted when they signed the bond. That success has existed for generations, but we must be willing to tell that story. Social media gives PBUS the ability to put facts directly in front of tens of thousands of people who may never have heard our side of the criminal justice debate. More than 1,250 people thought this single message was important enough to share with someone else. That is how a national voice is built, and it is proof of what the bail profession can accomplish when we work together.

If We Want Respect, Visibility and Public Trust, We Have to Earn It Across the United States, I spend a great deal of time looking at social media pages belonging to bail agents, bail bond companies and organizations within our profession, and far too often I come away asking the

08/29/2026

Bail Scams Did Not Start Yesterday

How Artificial Intelligence Is Supercharging a Long-Running Theft — and Why the Professional Bail Industry Is Fighting Back

The sudden attention being given to bail scams can leave the impression that this is a new crime. It is not. The FBI was warning the public about the “grandparent scam” in 2012 and reported that its Internet Crime Complaint Center had been receiving complaints since 2008.

The scheme was brutally simple: convince someone that a loved one had been arrested, create panic, demand immediate bail money and disappear with the cash. By 2013, federal prosecutors were charging people accused of using that exact story to steal thousands of dollars from elderly victims across the country.

Click the link to read more

How Artificial Intelligence Is Supercharging a Crime That Has Targeted American Families for Nearly Two Decades The sudden attention being given to bail scams can leave the impression that this is a new crime. It is not. The FBI was warning the public about the “grandparent scam” in 2012 and

08/29/2026

Harvard randomized trial found that Arnold Ventures’ Public Safety Assessment failed to produce meaningful improvements in court appearance, new criminal activity, violent crime, pretrial detention, or racial fairness—raising serious questions about replacing professional surety bail with taxpayer-funded prediction systems.
Click the link to read more.

A Harvard randomized trial found that Arnold Ventures’ Public Safety Assessment failed to produce meaningful improvements in court appearance, new criminal activity, violent crime, pretrial detention, or racial fairness—raising serious questions about replacing professional surety bail with taxp...

08/28/2026

PBUS believes the national conversation about pretrial release must move beyond slogans and examine who carries the cost, responsibility, and accountability when a defendant is released. Government pretrial programs require taxpayer-funded personnel, supervision, technology, treatment, monitoring, and administrative infrastructure, while professional surety bail places financial risk directly on a private surety with a powerful incentive to ensure the defendant appears in court.

The distinction becomes even more important when a defendant fails to appear or must be returned to custody. Professional bail is not simply a mechanism for release; it creates an accountable party with a legal and financial obligation tied to that defendant’s appearance and, under applicable state law, the authority to act when that obligation is threatened. Before policymakers replace that system with another government program, taxpayers deserve a complete comparison of cost, enforcement authority, recovery responsibility, and actual performance.
(Click the link to read more).

"Follow the Money, the Authority, and the Accountability — and See Which System Actually Works" The difference between government pretrial services and professional surety bail becomes much easier to understand when we stop arguing slogans and start looking at how the two systems actually operate....

08/28/2026

This case hits far too close to home for bail agents across the United States who have followed the death of Lauren Johansen and the questions surrounding what happened before it.

Today, Bricen Rivers pleaded guilty to killing Lauren and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Rivers is responsible for taking Lauren’s life. But the history leading up to that horrible day should concern everyone who works within the criminal justice system.

The record involves a judge, court staff, a jail, bail agents, GPS monitoring companies, prosecutors and law enforcement. Rivers had specific conditions requiring GPS monitoring, prohibiting contact with Lauren and restricting him to Davidson County. Yet the complete conditions did not reach the jail, he was released after the designated monitoring company had closed, another monitoring provider became involved, information about his restrictions was incomplete, violations followed, and the communication necessary to connect all of those moving pieces broke down. A six-judge Tennessee panel would later describe the release process as a “calamity of human and institutional errors.” The same panel ultimately found that the bonding companies had not violated the local court rules then in effect.

Click the link to read more.

This case hits far too close to home for bail agents across the United States who have followed the death of Lauren Johansen and the questions surrounding what happened before it. Today, Bricen Rivers pleaded guilty to killing Lauren and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of

08/28/2026

Shannon Roche, CBA, serves on the Board of Directors and as President and Chief Operating Officer of Roche Surety and Casualty Company, Inc. and Roche Surety, Inc. With 38 years of experience in the bail bond and surety profession, Shannon has dedicated her career to the advancement, protection, and long-term strength of professional surety bail.

A graduate of Eckerd College, Shannon earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Management. Throughout her career, she has played an integral role in the leadership, growth, and operations of the Roche companies and has helped guide the organization through an ever-changing regulatory, legislative, and business environment.

Shannon represents the bail profession through active involvement with national and state professional associations and has long been engaged in legislative and governmental affairs affecting the surety bail industry. She works closely with lobbyists, association leaders, lawmakers, and other stakeholders at both the state and federal levels to educate policymakers, monitor legislation, and advocate on issues important to professional bail agents and the surety industry.

Over nearly four decades, Shannon has also developed longstanding professional relationships with sheriffs, law enforcement leaders, and their state and national associations. These relationships have provided opportunities for continued dialogue and collaboration regarding the role of commercial surety bail within the criminal justice system and the communities it serves.

Shannon is licensed by the Florida Department of Financial Services as a General Lines Insurance Agent and a Limited Surety Agent and holds the designation of Certified Bail Agent (CBA) from the Professional Bail Agents of the United States (PBUS). She also maintains non-resident licenses in multiple states.

She is an active member of the Professional Bail Agents of the United States (PBUS), the Florida Surety Agents Association, and other state and industry organizations. Her involvement has allowed her to advocate for the profession on both a state and national level while remaining closely connected to the agents, associations, and public officials who shape the future of surety bail.

As a member of the second generation of the Roche family to lead and care for the family-owned surety business, Shannon recognizes that leadership is also a responsibility of stewardship. She is committed not only to preserving the values, reputation, and relationships built by the generation before her, but also to preparing the company for the future. Today, she is actively mentoring the third generation of the Roche family, sharing the industry knowledge, relationships, values, and sense of responsibility developed throughout her career.

Through 38 years of service, Shannon has become a respected voice within the profession and remains committed to strengthening professional bail, supporting the agents Roche serves, building productive relationships with law enforcement and government leaders, and ensuring that the Roche family’s legacy of service and stewardship continues for generations to come.

08/28/2026

Vera Wants a “Culture Change.” The Facts Demand Accountability.

The Vera Institute of Justice is once again promoting the idea that California’s courts have not gone far enough in reducing bail and pretrial detention. Vera senior researcher Madeline Bailey says the California Supreme Court made clear that “pretrial liberty is the norm” and now argues that implementing the decision requires a “culture change” within the courts. But the Sacramento Bee story Vera is promoting contains facts that raise a much more important question: why should judges be pressured to change their culture when the previous reforms have not demonstrated that they produced better results?

Start with Gerald Kowalczyk, the defendant whose case produced the April 2026 California Supreme Court decision. The story initially presents a low-level theft involving a credit card and a cheeseburger. Keep reading. Kowalczyk had approximately 60 prior convictions. The Supreme Court record is even more specific: 64 prior convictions, including felony attempted robbery and burglary, prior failures to comply with supervision, criminal activity across multiple counties and states, and substantial concerns that he would not return to court. The judge did not pull $75,000 out of thin air because Kowalczyk was poor. The judge was looking at the history of the person standing before the court.

Click the link to read more.