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Bail Bondsmen File Suit Against Local Sheriff's Department

Written by Christina Heller

Story Created: Feb 8, 2010 at 5:13 PM PST

Story Updated: Feb 9, 2010 at 9:28 AM PST

A lawsuit has been filed against Santa Barbara County, claiming a phone system at the jail is broken, and inmates can't make calls they're legally allowed to make.

Court documents obtained by KEY News show, it's not a new problem.

When you get arrested, you are allowed to make three free calls, and one can be to your bail bondsman, that's if you are able to post bail and get out .

However, in Santa Barbara County, a lawsuit claims the phone system at the jail, has technical problems that don't allow all calls to go through.

A group of bail bondsmen say they are not getting the calls they once received because of the problem, they are losing money, and the end result is, the person arrested has to spend the night behind bars.

We contacted Sheriff Bill Brown, the Santa Barbara County Counsels Office, and the maker of the phone system named in the suit, Securus Technologies. None of the parties have made a comment, on the record.

The county says it has not been served with the suit. It was filed with the court on January 7th of this year, more than a month ago.

Attorney Joe Allen represents the bail bondsmen involved and says,
for over three years, letters asking for repairs to the system have been made.

They've told the Sheriff's Department staff, "your system doesn't work, and for whatever reason it isn't working," said Allen.

"They're not getting their free calls. They're not able to contact their bondsmen."

He also says because of the bail issue, inmates staying overnight instead of posting bail immediately are now adding to the on going jail over crowding problem.

KEY News Senior Reporter John Palminteri has more.
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