What Are Bounty Hunters?

In some cases, you may hear a bounty hunter referred to as a “bail enforcement agents.” These people provide a legal service to obtain defendants. Sometimes, depending on the state, the bail bondsman may also be required to be present at the time of apprehension to be sure the bounty hunter has the correct person. If for some reason they obtain the wrong person, both the bail bondsman and the bounty hunter can be charged with false arrest.

Depending on the state of residency, that will determine what laws are in place for these occurrences. Some states have very strict laws for obtaining a defendant who has skipped bail.

When a person hires a bail bonds company and signs the bail contract to get their friend or loved one released, they are also acknowledging or guaranteeing that the defendant will show up to their court date(s). If the defendant chooses not to show up, necessary tactics will be taken. For one, the bond will be forfeited. In order to cover those expenses, the bail bond company will hire, or already has hired a bounty hunter to help obtain the defendant, hopefully before the trial occurs.

“Skipping bail” or the equivalent describes an individual who failed to meet their obligations for showing up to court. When a defendant is accused of skipping bail, immediately a warrant is placed on them for arrest by the court as well as a further court appearance is required to solve the matter. In many cases, the bounty hunter is used to obtain the defendant before other charges or bail forfeiture happens.

“Tracking a skip” refers to the locating and obtaining of a defendant.  This process of obtaining a defendant to avoid bail bond forfeiture is completely legal. When a defendant is located and brought back to the hands of the court, if it is prior to the forfeiture date, most likely no forfeiture will occur and collateral can be returned to the respected owner. However, a bail bond company will require extra compensation for these activities.

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One response to “What Are Bounty Hunters?”

1. joey writes:
   

   Ive been in the bounty hunting biz for a long time, about 20 years. I live and have an office in Indiana. The bail contract that DOG went to jail for in Mexico, is signed and on the wall at one of the insurance companies I work for from time to time. This brings me to my point. I hardly ever work for a bonds man as I most of the time work for the insurance comp. that has backed the bond in question. A lot of whats on TV is such A load of crap. I and the folks I work with or for are real. The money is tight and the work is less than it was ten years ago. One must really love it to do it…… If someone would need my service please check my web site for a contact number.

   @ January 3rd, 2011 at 21:24