Posted: 4/10/2003 1:12:55 PM EDT
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I'm a certified pipe welder and a supervisor for a welding company. For the last few weeks work has really slowed down. Its given me alot of time to start thinking of a career change. I've been kicking around the idea of getting into the bail enforcement business. In the state of Tennessee you need a license to be a bail bondsman but not a bail enforcement agent, bounty hunter, skip tracer, whatever you wanna call it. Is anyone here familure with this line of work? I'm sure some of the law enforcement on this board are. What I need to know is how to get started. Its not something I want to rush into without knowing the skills I need to learn. So my questions are.. 1.How do I get started in this line of work? 2.Are there any courses that I can take in the middle Tennessee area? 3.Where is a good source of information for this type of job? I've done a little research online and I've seen books, manuals, and some courses that are out of state. They are usually 2 day courses. I don't mind traveling to take a course but I wouldn't want to pay $300.00 bucks for some course that turns out to be a joke. I've also seen courses that can be taken at home online that run around $180.00. Are they worth the time and money? This is something I've very serious about learning. If anyone here is in this line of work and wouldn't mind giving me some good advice I'm all ears. I believe the only thing that can keep you from getting into this line of work is you can't have been a convicted felon in the past. I have a clean record and a concealed carry permit if that helps. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks. |
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Nighthawk don't take this personal, and I am not trying to be a smartass, but it reminds me of the old saying "Yesterday I couldn't spell bounty hunter, today I is one.". I spent 23 yrs doing basicly the same, LEO, and it is my opinion that it is not a career that you can take a class on and then be one. You will starve to death, not be able to do the job right (experence), or worst get hurt. Just my opinion. Good luck if you decide to do it. |
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This isn't something I'm taking lightly or considering just jumping into. I plan on starting out working for a profesional bail bonding company. Its hard to get a foot in the door with no experience but even harder when you have very little knowledge on the subject. I want to start out as an apprentice you might say. Working with a mentor, someone who has the skills, the knowledge and the experience in this line of work. Someone who can teach me what I need to know. But I don't want to go into it blind. There is no better teacher than experience but I also want to have a good working knowledge of the do's and don'ts. Thats the purpose of learning through classes, reading, and talking to people who know the business first hand. You should know the everyone has to start somewhere. |
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Nighthawk I was not trying to belittle you in fact I agree with what you just said. All I was trying to say be careful. I didn't even get into the legal aspects and the risk from them. Guess I will let someone do that. It sounds like you have already made up your mind. Bet you won't match the income you have not as a cert. welder, and yes I know money isn't everthing. Good luck in whatever you decide. |
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Quoted: Can a bounty hunter still get paid if they get their "targets" without doing it themselves? For example, if a bail skipper has been traced out of state, the bounty hunter calls the local cops, explains the warrants and such and have them do it for him. We already have a name for that, it's called "Informant"....[:D] |
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Sorry, Nighthawk, I'm afraid that all I can offer is a bump to the top of the list. I have no concept of how to get started in this. I guess that I'd probably call an attorney and would go from there. I hope that you get some responses, 'cause my curiosity has been piqued. IMHO PS Did you watch "Jackie Brown" last night? [:)] |
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Ok guy here is a place to start. 1. contact high risk insurance company and try to get rates for total coverage ei lialbility-false arrest-etx 2. contact as many county jails in your area and try to get some input into cooperation. These are the people you will have to deal with if you try to lodge a prisoner. 3. contact the highest profile bondsman you can and then try the lowest profile bondsman, (they lose more poeple). try to get some idea for income. The only other thing I can think of right now is see if you can find a local FOP in your area try to talk to some of them. I know you have to start somewhere. |
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Well, here is the copy of something I just wrote on another board, and then I'll try to answer your question. ---------------------------- There is a lot of BS out there about Bounty Hunters. Yes, a lot of them are scum. Criminals chasing criminals. However, they are good for society overall. And their reputation as useless and rogue is much undeserved. FotoTomas, they do provide a service to police and society. Somewhere around 90% of people who "forget" to show up to court are caught by bondsmen or their agents. About 8% are caught by law enforcement (mainly through traffic stops, etc) and about 2% get away for good. I'd say that is quite a service by freeing up law enforcement resources. bountyhunter, I see your name, but I don't think you have a realistic view of the bail bonding/recovery business, especially with regard to The Constitution. A bounty hunter or bondsman is not denying a fugitive due process when he takes his skip into custody. tdogz pretty much has it right. When you sign a bail bond, you are entering into a legal civil contract with a licensed surety bondsman that basically says you are being released by the courts to his custody. If the bondsman wanted to keep you in his sight 24/7, he could. If he wants to pick you up and take you to jail a few days before your trial because he thinks you might run, he can. That's because technically, you never left his custody (legally). So if you boogie on him, he has every right to hunt your butt down and bring you before the courts before the forfeiture date. As far as "incidents" are concerned: In 2000 there were around 30,000 arrests by bounty hunters or bondsmen, with 12 reported incidents (valid complaints to government authorities that were investigated). That is a .04% "misconduct" rate. Show me any law enforcement agency in the United States that makes as many arrests annually and has such a low number of investigations into conduct, etc. If you further restrict the recovery business, more bondsmen will go out of business because they will have more unrecovered fugitives that they have to pay the courts for. What happens when you are arrested, and there is no bondsman to bail you out? The locality will sometimes become the bonding agent. Pay them x amount of dollars, and you'll get it back when you come to court. Fine, but when you decide not to come to court, you might have a warrant squad type person come looking for you. They work shifts and are salaried. Shift ends, and they go home. Private bounty hunters are not like that, so they are by nature much more effective. They don't get paid unless they bring you to the bondsman or the court. No body, no booty. I can't remember the numbers, but look at places where private surety bail bonding and fugitive recovery is illegal, and look how many fugitives they have. Okay, that's the end of my rant. ---------------------------- If you want to get into this, get training. Try contacting [url=http://www.bounty-hunter.net/]The National Institute for Bail Enforcement[/url] and ask them about training. Once you get the appropriate training, join [url=http://www.nabra.com]The National Association of Bail Recovery Agents[/url]. They are the best association in the country in my opinion. Excuse the web page...NABRA was just bought by someone in Petersburg, VA. I had a meeting with them, and they are really going to clean up the operation and cut out what I call "the bubba factor". There will be training in Richmond soon, (the dates on the site are incorrect) but I don't know when yet. If you keep bugging me with e-mails or IMs I'll find out...don't be afraid to keep bugging me though! Associations like NABRA is where you will probably get your first cases. They will usually be from a bondsman out of town who doesn't feel like travelling to pick up their skip, or doesn't want to spend all the time and money involved with doing a stakeout 500 miles from their home. You can do it part time, and you'll have a lot to learn. Feel free to ask any questions, and if I can't answer one I'll do my best to get you an answer. |