Bounty hunter

A bounty hunter is an individual who seeks out fugitives for a monetary reward. It is legal in the United States thanks to the 1872 U.S. Supreme Court case (Taylor v. Taintor) which 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. Thus most bounty hunters are in the employ of 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. 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 commonly known as Bail Enforcement Agents or Fugitive Recovery Agents, which are the preferred industry terms.

External links

Training

• American Bail Coalition Located in Washington, D.C.
• Bail Enforcement Agent Training Located in both New Jersey and New York
• Bail Enforcement Training Online training only
• Pacific Northwest Bail Enforcement Academy Located in Tacoma, Washington
• American Institute of Bail Bonding and Bail Enforcement Located in Denver, Colorado
• National Institue of Bail Enforcement Directed by Bob Burton, and located in Spring Grove, Illinois
• Northwest Fugitive Recovery Agency Located in Kane, Pennsylvania

Misc

• http://www.dos.state.ny.us/lcns/bailmain.htm
• Howstuff Works page about Bail Enforcement