What do you think of Bounty Hunters?

Question

Are they like the old west Bounty Hunters or are they a necessary portion of law enforcement? No, I'm not talking about Duane Chapman but real Bounty Hunters. Chapman doesn't treat his fugitives the same as when the camera is turned off. Should the law limit their powers more than they do?

Answer 1

I think the laws concerning Bounty Hunters should be stricter. In some states, they are not even required to be licensed in any way. There is little to no training involved in becoming one, and no monitoring of these individuals actions. While I do believe there is a need for Bail Enforcement Agents, I think a lot of the people drawn to that profession are the very people who shouldn't be in it. There is nothing wrong with the government requiring licensing, training, monitoring, and accountability of their actions. The better trained, the better the results.

Answer 2

In the United States legal system, the 1873 U.S. Supreme Court case established that the person into whose custody a person accused of a crime is remanded as part of the accused's bail has sweeping rights to recover that person. For this reason, most bounty hunters are employed by a bail bondsman: the bounty hunter is paid a portion of the bail the fugitive initially paid, since if the fugitive successfully eludes bail, the bondsman is responsible for the remainder of their bail, not the bounty hunter.

Thus the bounty hunter is the bail bondsman's way of ensuring his clients arrive at trial. In the United States, bounty hunters catch an estimated 30,000 bail jumpers per year. Bounty hunters are also sometimes known as bail enforcement agents or fugitive recovery agents, which are the preferred industry and polite terms, but in common speech, they are still called "bounty hunters".

In the United States of America, bounty hunters have nearly limitless authority in their duties with regard to their targets. Unlike a police officer, a bounty hunter can enter the fugitive's private property without a warrant. Normally, bounty hunters do not undergo any formal training, and are generally unlicensed, only requiring sanction from a bail bondsman to operate.

They are an essential part of the criminal justice system. It is not uncommon for Law Enforcement to provide them with a good deal of assistance as they can do so much that the Police would not be able to do. I have known some bounty hunters that you would not want looking for you. May be that is a good thing.

Answer 3

I think they great and they treat you nicely then the police although i have never been in trouble with the law. when you call 911 the police want to arrest you but with the bounty hunters that is not nesseccarry the case. Maybe we should give them more powers to help the police the police can't do it all.

Answer 4

Well first of course bounty hunters don't have any powers,
But they go and get people that skip out on bail. The system works fairly well.

Answer 5

I think the laws are rather lax when it comes to bounty hunters, but I do think there is a need for them. If the cops can't get someone dangerous off the streets, who will?

Answer 6

Most I have worked with are good. They supply us with info and in turn we, on occasion find their guy for them.

Some that I have come across are police wannabes, couldn't bes, or usedtobes. Some are scary when they are like that.

Their authority is given to them via the Constitiution, therefore you probably won't find any limitations on their powers of arrest.

Answer 7

Are you talking about Dog the Bounty Hunter or Boba Fett? Both are devastating in their own time frame.

Answer 8

FOR most people, bounty hunters conjure up images of wild-west loners chasing cattle thieves for a handful of dollars. The recent exploits of Duane “Dog” Chapman—a particularly colourful specimen of this unusual profession—have done little to alter the loose-cannon image. Last June, Mr. Chapman tracked down Andrew Luster, a Max Factor heir convicted of rape, to Mexico—and hauled him back to California, to the fury of the Mexican government. Yet most bounty hunters have a much more mundane life.

Nowadays, bounty hunting (sorry, bail enforcement) is closely linked to the bail-bond industry. Under American law, most people arrested for minor crimes can get out of jail and wait for their day in court in the comfort of their home if they put up bail money, which is returned when they appear in front of the judge. Those who don't have the cash often turn to bail-bond agents or “bondsmen” (though many seem to be women). For a premium, and usually some collateral, agents guarantee that their clients will appear in court and cover their debts if they do not. Around nine in ten bailees follow the rules, and only a tiny proportion of the absentees are genuine fugitives (most simply forget, or are ill, and the date is rescheduled).

Whenever one of their proteges jumps bail, some agents turn to independent bounty hunters to round them up for a share of the bond value. Making a living as a freelance bounty hunter, however, is not easy. “It is chicken today, and feathers tomorrow,” says Billy Wells, a bounty hunter based in San Antonio, Texas. In some states, such as Florida, independent bounty hunters are actually illegal. Even when they are not, most bail-bond agents do the tracking down themselves.

According to the Professional Bail Agents of the United States, an association based in Washington, DC, only 1,200 people claim to be independent bounty hunters in the United States, and probably fewer than 100 manage to make a living at it. “This is a weekend activity, like hunting or fishing,” explains Mr Wells, who is also a bondsman, in his Texas drawl. He offers a two-day training course for would-be bounty hunters but strongly advises his students to keep their day jobs, or to double as bail-bond agents.

There are about 14,000 bond agents in the United States, bailing out hundreds of thousands of people every year. Most cases seem to involve drunk drivers and wife-beaters, and the average bond is $2,000. Most agencies are small “mom and pop” operations, run with a handful of employees.

Linda Braswell, a mother of six, has been in the business for 34 years. She works out of Florida with her husband, son, daughter and nephew. The key to a successful bail-bond business, says Mrs. Braswell, is to know whom you're dealing with, which requires strong roots in the community. “This is not a job,” she explains. “This is a way of life.” Bond agents often have to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as many clients fail to get arrested during office hours.

Fees are usually regulated (normally, they are around 10% of the bond value), so service and a personal touch make a difference. The offices of Bail Busters, a Los Angeles firm, areconveniently situated next to the city's main jails: after the firm gets your loved ones out, it graciously offers to drive them home. All major credit cards are accepted.

On the whole, bail-bond agents tend to work closely with the police, often bringing them in to help with arrests. When one of Mrs. Braswell's clients fled abroad, she worked with the Australian police, the State Department and the local sheriff to bring him back. Most fugitives do not make it that far, however. “They are often idiots,” explains Mr. Wells.

Bail-bond agents claim that they save the police time and effort. Critics, however, claim that they are unnecessary and dangerously unregulated. In most federal courts, defendants are policed by different methods, such as electronic tagging or home detention. John Zwerling, a board member of the National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers,argues that the bail system imposes an unnecessary cost on defendants, which can undermine their ability to organise their defence.

In the name of the law The powers enjoyed by bond agents and bounty hunters also raise some eyebrows. They can search their clients' houses without a warrant, as well as arrest them outside a state's borders. The agents explain that their clients, by entering into a bail-bond contract, give them the right to do so. But, as Mrs. Braswell admits, there are also a few unscrupulous agents who give her trade a bad name. Abductions have occurred, as well as illegal break-ins.

Regulation of bail agents and bounty hunters is left to the states. Most now require bond agents to get a licence, but beyond that things tend to get fuzzy. A handful of states do not allow private bail bonds at all. Some do not allow independent bounty hunting; others give the bounty hunters more freedom than the bail bondsmen. So chasing fugitives across state lines can turn into a legal minefield.

This is a lesson Mr. Chapman should have learned by now. Having failed to obtain proper authority for his spectacular capture of Mr. Luster, he was denied any bounty and faces misdemeanour charges in the United States.