In the past month, the media has given a lot of attention to Gabby Petito’s case especially now that the remains of her fiancée, Brian Laundrie, have been found. Laundrie is known as a person of interest in the case. A couple of weeks ago, reality TV star Dog the Bounty Hunte, showed up at Laundrie home during his pursuit of him. With all the media coverage on the case plus Dog’s appearance, a new wave of curiosity has arisen around bounty hunters. Who are they? What exactly do they do? Which side of the law are they on?
To answer these questions, it is important to understand who bounty hunters are and what they do.
Grace Telesco, assistant professor of criminal justice in the Fischler College of Education said Bounty hunters “are a little bit of a form of private security.”
Bounty hunters are usually hired by a bail bondsman to find convicted felons on the run trying to avoid trial. Bail bondsmen usually loan the bail money to defendants under the condition that they show up to court. If they fail to show up to their trial, bail bondsmen must pay the entirety of the bail out of their own pockets.
That’s where bounty hunters come in.
If a bail bondsman finds out the defendant is on the run evading trial, they can hire a bounty hunter to find them and make sure the defendant shows up to court. In such negotiations, bounty hunters usually get paid about 10% of the defendant’s bail, but that can vary depending on each case.
All this business may seem messy, but it is all legal. Across the United States, it is completely legal to be a bail bondsman or a bounty hunter as long as you are licensed and operating under the law.
However, according to Telesco, every jurisdiction will approach the issue differently.
Some states do not allow bounty hunters to call themselves that, instead they are bail agents, but their job description remains the same. Most states also require bounty hunters to be licensed. While some bounty hunters have criminal justice or law degrees, it is not a requirement for the job. On the other hand, being skilled in investigation, weapons and fighting is. That is why most bounty hunters are usually retired law enforcers, such as police officers.
Nevertheless, private investigators and bounty hunters are a little different.
“A private investigator might be hired at a certain amount of money to investigate a certain thing. So, a private citizen might think his wife is cheating on him so hires a private investigator to follow that individual and do surveillance and do undercover kind of monitoring and supervision,” said Telesco.
When it comes to bounty hunters, Telesco explained that bounty hunting is different since “the end goal is not just following somebody but finding somebody and if they are wanted on a warrant, bringing them in.”
In Florida, besides passing the license exam to become a bail agent, one must be an adult with a high school diploma and have never been convicted of a felony or crime penalized by one year or more in jail. With their license, bail agents can only pursue defendants who have skipped trial as determined by their bondsman. Plus, bail agents must always carry documents about the investigation and their license, especially when in pursuit of making an arrest.
With the Gabby Petito case, Dog the Bounty Hunter is not from Florida, which means he has limited power as a bounty hunter in the state.
“I think private investigators would do just as good a job. And I would believe that the FBI and any other agencies that are involved probably have just as many good resources as a private individual would have,” said Telesco.
