What is a surety?

A surety is someone who guarantees that the accused will follow the conditions of the bail. In some cases, in order to get bail, the courts want someone from the community to supervise the accused. Sureties have been described as jailers in the community and even as a babysitter. Essentially a surety is someone who comes to court and says I’m going to supervise the accused and make sure they follow the rules.