CITATION RELASE:
The arresting officer issues a Citation Release to the defendant typically right after the individual is arrested. Since the defendant may not actually be placed in custody, the court depends solely on the integrity of arrested that they will voluntarily appear in court on the scheduled date.

PERSONAL RECOGNIZANCE (P.R.)
Based on a telephone interview with the defendant, the staff member of a pre-trial release program will attempt to determine if individuals in custody will in fact appear in court on their scheduled appearance date even without the strong motivator of financial forfeiture as incentive.

SURETY BOND:
This process requires a contractual undertaking guaranteed by an insurance company that has the assets to fully satisfy the amount of the bail bond. The insurance company contracts with the Bail Agent, and the Bail Agent then assures that he will repay the bond if the defendant fails to appear on his schedule court date. Because the Bail Agent has promised his own money, he has a vested interest in ensuring that the defendant will in fact appear in court as scheduled. Bail Agents invests the necessary time and funds required to locate an individual who has not honored their commitment to appear in court. It is widely held that Bail Agents have highly effective and efficient methods of ensuring a defendant is in court as scheduled.

CASH BOND:
In this instance, an individual must post the total amount of the bail in cash with the court. This is a strong incentive for the defendants to appear in court as scheduled. Failure to appear can result in the forfeiture of the cash bond.

PROPERTY BOND:
Individual may secure release from custody by posting a property bond with the court. In this instance, the court records a lien on property, in the amount of the bail. If the defendant subsequently does not appear in court on the scheduled date, the court may initiate the foreclosure process in order to procure the forfeited bail amount.