If you have recently been let out of jail due to a friend or family member getting a bail bond, you will certainly be enjoying your temporary freedom before you must go back to court and face the charges you have been accused of. However, you may be tempted to violate the terms of your bail and not show up to court, which is known as jumping bail. There are many consequences to jumping bail that you should be aware of so that you do not do it.

Bail Will Be Forfeited

The most immediate consequence of jumping bail is that your bail will be forfeited as a result. This means that the friend or family member that put up collateral in order to get the bail bond will lose it. This is often an expensive personal property item that they own, such as the title to their car or the deed to their home. Be aware that you will be putting another person that tried to help you out into a huge financial problem. While this won't affect you directly, it will immediately affect others.

Criminal Charges Won't Go Away

Those charges against you will never go away, and you'll be living in fear for the rest of your life. If you are ever arrested again, or simply stopped by the police while driving, your criminal history will come up and show that there is a warrant for your arrest. In addition to facing whatever new charges you are being accused of, you'll have to face the old charges and the penalty for jumping bail. Expect the consequences to be worse due to jumping bail, which can result in additional fines or jail time simply as a result for jumping bail. If you are found innocent of all charges, you'll still have to face the penalty associated with jumping bail.

Bounty Hunters Can Track You Down

The bondsman will have a lot of money on the line that is lost if you don't return to jail, which is why they can use the services of a bounty hunter to locate you. Bounty hunters work on the premise of receiving a percentage of the bail bond in exchange for finding the bail jumper. These are not police officers, and actually don't have to follow many few rules in order to bring you in, which will eventually happen due to the money they will receive by tracking you down.

Contact a business like Steele Boys Bail Bonds to learn more.