Dan The Bounty Hunter

Back in the days of the Wild West, when outlaws like Jesse James and Butch Cassidy roamed the land, local sheriffs didn’t have the resources to track them down. They put up “WANTED” posters offering huge rewards for their capture and at the time Jesse James was worth $5,000 which was a lot of money back in those days. Bounty hunters (bail enforcement agents) answered the call, tracking the bad guys relentlessly for a piece of the reward money or bounty. They were able to do whatever it took and go wherever needed to bring in the outlaws.  And they could bring them back “dead or alive”!

Stereotype Of The Rogue Bounty Hunter

Today the stereotype of the rogue bounty hunter still remains. Most modern bounty hunters, now called bail enforcement agents in many circles, are trained and licensed professionals. The Wild West free-for-all has been transformed into a real business and an integral part of the American justice system. In fact, it is estimated that sworn peace officers only apprehend approximately 20% of the bail secured fugitives at large. The other 80% is due to the hard working professionals we refer to as bounty hunters, bail enforcement agents, investigators, bail surety investigators, etc. Bail Enforcement is a very important part of our criminal justice system. Much more than people realize!

Is It A Government Job?

Some people have a misconception that because bail enforcement is part of our criminal justice system that it must be a government job or at least a job where you work for someone with a set amount of pay per hour. Bail enforcement is not a government job, at any level of the government, and you will likely not find a job working for someone else. Most likely, if you really want to get into the field, you will have to start into it on your own and by yourself. And it is highly recommended that you receive some type of training before proceeding on your own. At the very least you should take an online course to bring everything into perspective before you take action. Dan The Bounty Hunter recommends Scott Harrell with CompassPoint Investigations for your Bail Enforcement training.

How Do I Make Money?

It all starts with the defendant that is sitting in jail and wants to get out on bail. There are different people and agencies that can post bail for a defendant; however, the most common is a bondsman. The bondsman will post bail, which is no more than a bond issued by an insurance company, and it is designed to ensure the return of the defendant for trial.  In the event the defendant does not return then the defendant now officially becomes a fugitive. It is important to note the distinction between a fugitive and a bail secured fugitive. On the surface a fugitive is a fugitive, however, too often there seems to be confusion about which type of fugitive we are authorized to arrest. The powers of arrest come from the bail piece or document that gives a bondsman this authority to arrest and imprison. There are other related documents as well and it is very important that the bondsman have all of these things in order. The bottom line is the bail enforcement agent makes money by being paid a bounty or fee when returning the bail secured fugitive to jail and then giving the bail receipt to the bondsman. The bondsman pays varying amounts so it is important to discuss this in the beginning. Typically, 10% of the face value of the bond plus expenses seems to be customary for a good bail enforcement agent. If you want to get this kind of money then you need to be prepared for much more than just throwing on a badge, kicking a door, yelling, throwing on the cuffs, and hauling them to jail. You need to open your mind to educating yourself, your client and the public. On-going education, training, community involvement and a great rapport with your clients will go a long, long way.  

But Where Does The Bail Enforcement Agent Come In?

A bondsman’s life is very hectic and very much a full time job. They need to spend as much time as they can writing bail, and hopefully good bail, so they can make money. The objective, of course, is for them to make very good money and they can if they write enough good bail. When they write bad bail that means that they posted bail for defendant’s who were higher risk. Risk of not coming back and standing trial for the crimes in which they allegedly committed. When the defendant flees and they become a bail secured fugitive, then the bondsman must decide whether to pursue this themselves, pay the cost or hire a bail enforcement agent. Sometimes the bond is so small that it does not pay off for them to hire someone else unless the bail enforcement agent can offer credit card payments to the indemnitor, co-signer, through the bondsman’s business.  In other words, when a relative or friend can pay some money on a credit card to the bondsman then they are sharing in the monetary risk and will likely give up the fugitive if necessary to keep from losing money. In most cases the bondsman contacts a hunter, bail enforcement agent, or they have their own. Most bondsman just do not have the time to track down people so it pays for them to outsource it. And they really should because this is a specialized area all on its own.

There are many great sources of information out there to learn more about bail enforcement. In addition to Scott Harrell with CompassPoint Investigations, I also like Bail Bonds 101 and 201 by Sean M. Cook. He does a very good job of explaining things from a bondsman’s point of view and if you want to be a bail enforcement agent then their point of view should be very important to you. They need all the help they can get because their job is challenging enough so take a roll as educator as much as possible. You will learn a great deal and perhaps you can help the bondsman in refining their processes, help them write better bail and in return you get many referrals and make BIG money!

To Your Success!

Dan Miller
Miller Investigations, LLC
NSIN #DM0509
danthebountyhunter.com