Bounty Hunters: Catching People who Skip Bail

The movies and TV make “bounty hunter” seem like a glorious profession. Who doesn’t think of Dog the Bounty Hunter or Boba Fett when the term is used? The reality is that the job is not quite as extreme as it’s portrayed on screen.

Perhaps a better way to view bounty hunter is under the more generic title of bail enforcement agent or fugitive recovery agent, because a good majority of their business involves tracking down people who have jumped bail and returning them to custody. This is a lot less glorious than Hollywood makes it appear.

When an arrested person is released from jail by a bail bonds business posting a bond, that individual is responsible for attending all scheduled court hearings. If that person skips trial, then the bail bondsman has to pay the full bail amount. This does not go over well with their insurance companies or business partners.

Rather than take a financial hit that is usually above $10,000, the bondsman will hire a bounty hunter to track down the defendant and bring him back to court. The fugitive recovery agent works for a percentage of the bond, called a bounty.

The United States and Philippines are the only two countries where bounty hunting is legal. In the U.S., bounty hunters are granted a few unique rights. They are allowed to enter any property owned by the bail jumper, because U.S. law states that the defendant has given up his rights to the bailer. The bounty hunter may not enter anyone else’s property without being invited inside.

In the United States, bounty hunters claim to capture 90 percent of bail jumpers each year. That is a very good percentage.

Not all states allow bounty hunters, like Kentucky, and each has its own requirements for training. Some require strict training in order to operate, but many others allow bounty hunters to be unlicensed.

While there are many interesting factors in a bounty hunter’s life, most of the time they are just finding bail jumpers too lazy to really flee.