So you want to become a bounty hunter, huh?
You heard it in the movie Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back when Boba Fett, a bounty hunter, arrested Han Solo and encased him in carbonite leaving him in suspended animation.
What exactly is a bounty hunter? What do they do?
A bounty hunter (also known as a bail bond agent, bail bond agent, bail bond officer, fugitive recovery officer, or fugitive recovery specialist on bail) is a person who arrests fugitives to obtain compensation. Generally, a fugitive “search” is done to recover a suspect who has not shown up for a scheduled court date.
Failure of the defendant to appear in court allows the court to issue an arrest warrant or warrant for the defendant. At this time, the surety, the person who paid money to court, or bail, to get the defendant out of jail, may lose that money or take the defendant, now called a fugitive, back to court for trial. . . This is where the bounty hunter, who is hired by the surety, steps in to arrest a fugitive. The bounty hunter is the surety’s way of making sure clients show up for court.
Most bounty hunters carry tools of the trade similar to those of law enforcement personnel. Some of the tools they carry include a badge, radio, bulletproof vest, firearm, handcuffs, pepper spray, taser gun, or stun gun.
When recovering a fugitive from justice, bail enforcement officers have an advantage over law enforcement personnel. When it comes to arresting a fugitive, no warrant is required for bail bond agents to enter your private property. They need a warrant to re-arrest a fugitive.
Do you want to become the next Boba Fett or Duane Chapman?
To become a bail bond agent, you must consider the state in which you plan to practice as a professional bounty hunter. Some states require bail bond agents to different licensing and training standards. In California and Texas, for example, bounty hunters must pass certain training courses and complete a thorough background check. In Louisiana, the state requires its agents to wear clothing that identifies them as bail bond agents. In Kentucky, it is illegal to hunt bounty. The exception, however, is that a fugitive can be prosecuted if he fled to Kentucky to avoid federal charges in another state. Most bounty hunters cannot carry firearms unless they have the proper permits to carry them.
Most bounty hunters are employed by bondsmen and can legally operate in all 50 states except Kentucky. They have an obligation before the courts that fugitives appear for trial.
Bounty hunter in the media
If you are a big fan of Dog: the bounty hunter As I am, you may have heard that Duane Chapman, the host of the show, pursued a fugitive, Andrew Luster, in Mexico in June 2003. In Mexico, Mexican authorities arrested Duane Chapman himself because the arrest of a fugitive was consider kidnapping. under its laws.
Shortly after Chapman’s release and his return to the United States, a Mexican prosecutor declared Chapman and his “hunting” team fugitives from justice. In September 2006, just days before the statute of limitations expired, fugitive recovery specialists from the United States Marshals Service came to arrest Chapman and his team and incarcerate them in Honolulu, Hawaii, on behalf of the authorities. Mexican.
In February 2007, representatives of the state of Hawaii asked President Felipe Calderón of Mexico to drop the extradition charges against Chapman and his team.