The mainstream media often uses the term ‘surety’ to denote money or other valuable property provided to guarantee a person’s bail.
There are many examples of this, and such usage is as common as it is incorrect:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-07/salim-mehajer-loses-bid-for-bail/9405702
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-11-27/grandmums-house-sought-as-surety-for-bag-snatch/220972
https://7news.com.au/news/crime/weekly-shop-part-of-nsw-accuseds-bail-c-981304
Surety versus security
The difference between the words ‘surety’ and ‘security’ in the context of bail applications is quite simple:
A ‘surety’, also known as abail guarantor(and sometimes referred to as an ‘acceptable person’) is someone who guarantees bail for a person who applies for bail, by providing a security.
A‘bail security’is money or other property, or interest in property, that a bail guarantor provides to the court to support a bail application.
So, it makes no sense when the mainstream media says ‘X deposited an $X surety’, as this would suggest a physical person was deposited to the court.
