Being in jail is not the most exciting thing that you could experience in life. If possible, you need to find a bondsman or someone who has the money to pay your bail so that you don’t have to spend any more time in jail than is required. You could also be released after your court date on probation. Regardless of how you get out of jail, you need to abide by the regulations required so that you don’t end up back behind bars. Here are some tips to help you know what you ought to do:
Go to the Designated Office
Whether you’re released from jail and put on probation or you’re released on bond, you need to visit the appropriate office to maintain contact at all times. Most probation officers will set up an appointment where you have to come in on a certain day or a certain number of times each month. If you’re released on bond, then you’re going to want to maintain contact with the bond agent, such as one from Rader Bonding Co, so that you know when to go to court and can establish trust with them. After all, you don’t want a bounty hunter coming and looking for you.
Pay Your Fines
There will likely be fines that you have to pay to your probation officer each month. The bondsman who got you out of jail needs to be paid back. Because of this, you’ll need to get a job as soon as possible. If you get behind on the payments, it’s hard to get caught back up and can sometimes reflect negatively on your case when you go back to court for your probation hearing. If you had a cosigner on your bond, this can really affect them and their financial situation if you’re not able to pay up. It might even cause them to end up in jail as well. For their sake, if not yours, you should always pay your fines and show up to court dates when you’re out on bond. Otherwise, you’ll be putting your relationships at risk and you don’t want to do that either.
Stay off of Drugs
One of the things that you’re likely going to need to do when you’re on probation is to take a drug test. Sometimes, you only need to take one or two to show that you’re not using drugs or that you can stay clean while you’re out of jail. Find a hobby, enroll in school or stay busy with your family so that you’re not tempted to use drugs, which could mean going back to jail.
Get Involved
Talk to your bondsman about what led to being arrested and going to jail. Talk to your probation officer about how you can stay out of jail in the future. If you take the steps needed to communicate with those who have helped you, then you’ll find that it’s easier to stay on the right side of the tracks.
When you get out of jail, you need to take positive steps to secure a job, complete community service or perform the other tasks required by your probation officer or bondsman. Once you’re comfortable with being in a positive routine, it’s easier to make the right decisions so that you’re not faced with being in jail again.