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ABSTRACT:
Bounty hunters are employed by the bail industry to locate and apprehend criminal defendants who "skip" bail and, subsequently, fail to appear for court appointments. While some scholars have examined bounty hunters, this work is concerned primarily with the origins, history, and legal challenges to the industry and its practices. Popular literature on this subject has created the "myth" of the bounty hunter, but it has failed to provide an accurate portrayal of the activities these individuals perform. Through the use of field research methods, this study provides a better understanding of the role that bail agents and bounty hunters play in the criminal justice system.
INTRODUCTION
Bail is a monetary sum used to secure the pre-trial release of an accused person from the custody of the courts. The purpose of bail is to ensure that the defendant will return for subsequent court proceedings. Bail is premised on the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution which states that "excessive bail shall not be required" when granted. Because of this protection, the courts have provided accused individuals awaiting trial a variety of pre-trial release options (Gaynes, Henry, & Smith, 1984; Miller & Guggenheim, 1990). One can divide these options into financial and non-financial forms of release.
The commercial bail/bond system is the oldest of the various pretrial financial release options available. Under this system of bail, the accused is released to the custody of a bail or bond agent and the enforcers of the bail agreement-the bounty hunter. Bounty hunters are individuals who locate and apprehend defendants who "skip" bail and fail to appear for court appointments. They are viewed in a variety of ways, including as an anachronism in the criminal process (Kaufman, 1999), a quasi-judicial actor (Drimmer, 1996), and a vital service to the criminal justice system (Kaufman, 1999).
While there is some literature that examines the bail/bond industry and bounty hunters, nearly all of it is concerned with the origins, history, and legal challenges to the practices. The popular literature on this subject has created the "myth" of the bounty hunter, but it has failed to provide an accurate portrayal of the activities these individuals perform. To date, no study provides an accurate insider's view of the nature of the...