If you watched shows like “One for the Money” and “The Fall Guy”, you must have nurtured a secret desire of being a bounty hunter at some point? Bounty hunting may not be exactly a cakewalk. However, it is quite an exciting job that can be quite lucrative for people with the right training and aptitude.

Who is a Bounty hunter?

The term refers to professionals who are paid to track down convicts and lawbreakers for a bounty or financial reward. In the field of bail, the word “bounty hunter” refers to bail recovery agents who hunt down defendants who have jumped bail and escaped trial. They are entrusted to spot such people and bring them to court.

Bounty hunting professionals are also known as “Bond Enforcement Agents”. The profession is backed by the 1872 Taylor v. Taintor Supreme Court case.

Is Bounty Hunting Legal?

This is a legal profession, although it is acknowledged only in the U.S and the Philippines. It is not recognized as a legal activity in any other country of the world.

How Bounty hunters Work?

Generally, these people have greater authority to arrest a “bail jumper” than any other law enforcement agent. Once a defendant signs a bail bond, he or she technically enters into a legal agreement. According to this document, they can be arrested by bail agent and taken to any state if they jump bail.

Once a defendant “jumps” bail and escapes trial, the bail bondsman who paid for his release contacts a Bounty hunter. The person is handed over a copy of the “bail piece”, which is a document indicating that the defendant is a fugitive. In some states, the person is provided with a certified copy of the bail bond. This authorizes the bail recovery agent with great power. With such authority, a bounty hunter can:

• Arrest a person without a warrant
• Arrest a fugitive without reading Miranda Rights to him or her
• Enter a private property without announcing themselves

However, there are also certain rules and regulations that a bail recovery agent must abide by. While they can enter into the home of a person unannounced, they can only do so after they have made sure that the fugitive lives or has taken refuge there. They are not authorized to enter the homes of family members or friends of a fugitive only out of suspicion. Continue reading →

Getting arrested for a crime can be a harrowing experience, not only for the accused but also his family members. Getting help of a bail bond agent is often the best thing you can do to facilitate quick release of a detained person close to you. Read and know all about bail bond agents, how they work and how you can enlist their services.

Who are Bail Bond Agents?

The term refers to any individual or organization that acts as a surety for an accused. The person or institution pledges a sum of money or property as guarantee for the fact that the arrested person or persons will appear in court for trial. The bail bond agent arranges the release of the accused defendant with the court. In return for its services to fix bail for the accused, the agency charges a fee.

Bail Bond Agents are also known by various other names, such as

• Bail Bond Recovery Agents
• Bondsmen
• Surety Agent
• Bounty Hunter

Types of Bail Bond Agents

There are two types of bail bond agents:

Professional bail agents

They work for professional bonding companies and usually charge around 5% of the bail amount as fee, especially in states like Pennsylvania. In most states, agents can collect as much as 10% of the total amount. Professional agents must hold a license for each county that they work in.

Surety bail agents

These bondsmen work for surety companies which are similar to insurance companies in the sense that they insure bails. A surety agent enjoys more benefits than a professional agent as they are authorized to work in all the states and counties of the United States.

Why Bail Bond Agents Are Needed?

The bail amount set by a court is often too high to pay for an American who has been arrested as a suspect for a crime. The amount could be too high to pay for an average American. Earlier, many people had to pawn their precious belongings or mortgage their homes to secure the release of their loved ones. Bail Bond Agents have simplified the process. If you are willing to give the bail amount but do not have the means to pay off, you may choose to work with bail bond agents. All you have to do is pay a percent of the total bail money to the agency. The agency will pay the remaining amount to enforce the bail bond and make sure that the accused appears in court. Unless the bond is presented as a surety to a court of law, the defendant would be kept in jail until trial.

How Do Bail Bond Agents Work? Continue reading →

What are Bail Bonds?

It is a type of bail that is deposited through the help of a bail bond agency or bondsman. Bail Bond Agency or Bail Bondsman refers to a company or an individual who can be hired to pay a bail amount for a defendant if his or her family members are unable to deposit it. If the defendant fails to appear at the court on the date set for trial, the bondsman or bond agency can confiscate the full bail amount.

Bail bonds can be purchased in most states of the United States. However, some states like Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Nebraska, Oregon and Wisconsin do not allow buying of bail bonds.

How Do Bail Bonds Work?

When a person is arrested, a bail amount has to be paid immediately afterwards to release him or her. If the crime is less serious in nature, the arrested person may be allowed to go after being booked for crime and following payment of the bail. If the offense is serious, the amount of bail is set by a judge within 2 days of the arrest. In most cases, a friend, family member or any well-wisher fails to secure the amount needed for the defendant’s release. In such cases, a bail bonds agency can be approached to pay the bail amount on behalf of the defendant. The well-wisher of the accused has to pay a percentage of the full bail amount, as well as some collateral (in certain cases), to the bonds agent. The percentage is paid as a fee and is non-refundable. The collateral is returned once the case gets over.

However, the collateral is forfeited by the bondsman (or bonds agency) if the accused escapes to avoid standing for trial. The collateral, which is usually a car, home or any type of property, is sold off to recoup the amount paid as bail. Bail agencies use bail recovery agents to bring back the defendant for trial, through negotiations or force.

The fee that is paid to bail agencies is known as “Premium”. It is usually 10% of the total bail amount set by a court. The amount can be paid up-front or through financing. In some cases, bail bonds agencies can arrange the financing. However, financing is only provided to those who qualify for it.

Once bail bondsmen receive the “Premium”, they make arrangements for the release of the defendant. The discharge may take an hour or more, depending on factors like:

• The nature of the case
• The behavior of the accused
• The release time of the jail where the defendant has been kept Continue reading →

Getting arrested can be the worst experience for an accused as well as his or her family. However, an arrest is not the “end-all” of everything. If you consider yourself likely to face an arrest sometime soon, it is important to have a proper understanding of the issues associated with arrest and booking.

Reasons for Getting Arrested

You may be arrested due to any of these reasons:

• If cops have seen you commit a crime
• If cops have been informed about a possible crime that you have committed
• If cops have an arrest warrant for you

Process of Getting Arrested

Once you are arrested, you may or may not be handcuffed. Physical restraints may be used if you try to resist arrest with force. You may simply be informed about your arrest and led to the back of the police car. Thereafter, you will be driven to a police station or a “central” location where charges will be booked against you.

During arrest, law enforcement officials will read out the “Miranda Rights” to you. If you watch Hollywood cop movies you may have a fair idea about it already. This is basically some constitutional rights that police officials read out to suspects while interrogating them after an arrest. As per rule, police officers should make suspects aware that they have the right to get a lawyer to represent them and that anything they say may be used as evidence against them in court. Suspects have the constitutional right to stay silent until a lawyer advises them to do otherwise. Continue reading →

You must have hears the term “Bail bond” if a person in your neighborhood or family has faced an arrest. This is a simple, yet complicated, legal process that gives rise to many misconceptions among people in general. However, it is indeed a fast and effective service that can be of immense help to an arrested person as well as his or her family members.

What is bail?

It refers to some type of property, monetary or otherwise, that a person detained for any crime needs to deposit or pledge to a court. The deposit is made on condition that the accused would be released from detention and allowed to live freely until the date for trial comes up. Once the accused shows up on the date for trial and the case is resolved, the property is returned. If the person escapes or fails to appear for trial due to some reason, the bail is forfeited.

How to Post Bail?

Bails can be posted in two ways:

The defendant (accused) can pay the required bail out of his/her own pockets or borrow the amount from friends or family members.

The defendant or any of his well-wishers can avail the services of a bail bond agency. The agency can pay the bail in return for a fee and collateral. This type of a bail is known as a bail bond. In exchange for this service, the individual who needs the bail bond has to secure the loan typically with any type of security deposit that can be used as collateral. He or she also has to pay a non-refundable fee to the bail bondsman which is approximately 10% of the entire bail amount. This fee is non-refundable although the collateral is given back if the defendant appears for trial.

What are Bail bonds?

The term refers to an amount of money that must be confiscated by a bondsman if a person accused of a crime fails to appear for trial in court. If the arrested person appears for the court proceedings, the amount will be returned once the case is over. Continue reading →