![]() ![]() ![]() In 2015, country singer Randy Howard was killed in a shootout with a bounty hunter. While the bounty hunting industry remains largely overlooked, news articles of bounty hunter shootouts and assault reinforce the public opinion that American bail enforcement agents are closely related to the lawless, gunslinging cowboys of the Wild West. Shooting, Assault, and Regulation in Modern-Day American Bounty Huntingīounty hunters occasionally make the news for sticky situations involving fugitives. Taintor, the private contract between a bail bond company and a client gives power to bail enforcement agents to arrest a client if they violate the bond agreement. This case specifically allows a bail bond company agent, or a bounty hunter, to “seize” the fugitive and “deliver him up in their discharge and if that cannot be done at once, they may imprison him until it can be done.” Bail enforcement agents may also “pursue him into another state may arrest him on the Sabbath, and, if necessary, may break and enter his house for that purpose.” In addition to Taylor v. ![]() In the United States, bounty hunters ultimately draw their authority to arrest from the Supreme Court case Taylor v. As payment, a bounty hunter can expect 10%-25% of the suspect’s original bond value from the bail bond company: Unlike what is shown in the movies, bounty hunters rarely receive rewards of hundreds of thousands of dollars for a captured fugitive. Reportedly, American bounty hunters catch over 30,000 bail jumpers - or about 90% of the fugitives who jump bail - each year in the United States, pursuing these suspects when government law enforcement simply does not have the resources. While some bounty hunters may operate lone-wolf style, the bounty hunting industry as a whole is a for-profit business that plays a significant role in the U.S. They are private citizens who use a variety of methods, including conducting investigations, interviewing people, and performing surveillance, to find and arrest a suspect who has failed to appear at court. What is a Modern-day American Bounty Hunter?Īn American bounty hunter, often called a “bail enforcement agent” or a “fugitive recovery agent,” usually works with bail bond companies to track down suspects who have skipped bail. In this article, I will explain what a modern-day American bounty hunter is, present where bounty hunters draw their authority from, and demonstrate how their presence today raises several significant concerns over the safety of those they pursue. It turns out that the American bounty hunter, while a far cry from the cowboys in the old Westerns, is an integral but elusive part of the U.S. ![]() While cooing over Grogu and enjoying the show, I started to wonder whether bounty hunters still exist in modern-day American society. Last year, while watching the popular TV show “The Mandalorian,” I found myself intrigued with the show’s portrayal of “Mando,” a tough, resolute bounty hunter who risks everything to protect a small child called Grogu. When I think of a bounty hunter, I think of a gunslinging cowboy in the Wild West, hunting criminals with only a “WANTED” poster at hand and the far-off promise of a reward. ![]()
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