Bounty Hunters and Discuss Whether

¶ … bounty hunters and discuss whether bounty hunters have too much power or not. Bounty hunters are an effective element of the bail bond process, and studies show they help keep non-compliant offenders to a minimum. Bounty hunters certainly have powers ordinary citizens do not enjoy, but they do not have too much power, they have enough to do their jobs effectively, and must comply with local laws and jurisdictions in their hunt for wayward fugitives.

Essentially, the bail bond business ensures suspects and accused criminals will show up in court for their trial and sentencing. One criminal justice writer notes, "Bail operates on the principle that a criminally accused person will be freed from jail once he guarantees his presence in court on a certain date by posting a significant sum of money" (Reynolds, 2002, p. 119).

Since most criminals cannot manage to raise the amounts of money necessary to ensure they will appear, they turn to bail bondsmen, who put up the total funds in exchange for a percentage (usually 10%) to ensure the suspect will reappear in court when necessary. If the suspect does not appear, the bondsman loses his entire bond and 10% fee. Thus, bondsmen are extraordinarily motivated to ensure the suspect complies. They stand to lose quite a bit of money if the suspect flees. Thus, bounty hunters were born.

For a fee, they recapture fugitives who are about to miss their court appearances, ensuring the bondsman does not lose his fee. Author Reynolds continues, "Every state requires that they [bounty hunters] be licensed and regulated. In a majority of cases, bounty hunters directly apprehend the fugitives. In the remaining cases, they locate and identify the fugitive and let the police make the arrest" (Reynolds, 2002, p. 119). Thus, bounty hunters are regulated and licensed, and if a bounty hunter exceeds his authority, he can lose his ability to do business.

Many studies indicate the importance of bounty hunters in the bail bond system. Author Reynolds notes, "Only 15% of felony defendants released on surety bonds initially failed to appear in court vs. failure rates of 26% for those released on their own recognizance and 42% released on unsecured bonds, according to a 1992 Department of Justice study of the seventy-five largest counties" (Reynolds, 2002, p. 120).

In addition, only three percent of suspects are fugitives one year of their release to a bondsman, while over 9% remain fugitives if they are released on their own recognizance, and 19% remain fugitives if they are released without a security bond (Reynolds, 2002, p. 120). Thus, the bonding process ensures more criminals come to trial, and the bounty hunters are a major reason for this success. Bounty hunters do enjoy a variety of powers, granted by the Supreme Court.

Author Reynolds continues, "The Supreme Court, in an 1872 decision that is still good law, stated that these powers include the right to pursue a fugitive into another state, arrest him at any time, and enter a fugitive's house without a warrant" (Reynolds, 2002, p. 122). Some of these powers granted give bounty hunters more power than police agencies, such as entering a home without a warrant, and there is contention that this gives bounty hunters too much power for their position. In fact, many bounty hunters have made mistakes arresting fugitives.

Some have arrested the wrong person, and others have come under fire for using violent, strong-arm techniques on offenders who have missed bail on non-violent offenses, such as parking or moving violations. Legislation was introduced in Congress to require federal supervision of bounty hunters, and stricter regulations for their operation, but it never passed the Congress. These opponents point to abuses by some bounty hunters, along with their power to monitor and enter innocent people's homes that are guaranteed by national law.

While some bounty hunters may abuse their power, the majority are aware of their power and the need to regulate it. Another writer quotes the director of the U.S. Professional Bail Bond Investigators Association, a profession organization for bounty hunters. The author writes, "There are people in our industry who are dumb, stupid, but we already have laws in place: If you hurt somebody, you're going to face the consequences of the law.

Most of the people I know who do this are professionals; a lot of them are former law-enforcement personnel'" (Elvin, 2000, p. 22). Thus, most bounty hunters recognize their limits, and know their profession is on the line if they abuse their power. In fact, another magazine writer notes that the professional bounty hunter he encountered often worked unarmed, as do many in the profession (Rucker, 2001, p. 7). That fact backs up the idea that bounty hunters do not possess too much power in the criminal justice system.

They possess enough to get the job done, and regulations ensure they do not get out of hand. Another professional notes much of their time is actually spent tracking down.