While reality shows about bounty hunters offer good entertainment, they hardly reveal what life is like for genuine bondsman. While bail bondsmen take into custody bail captains each day, conflicts as dramatic as those shown on TELEVISION are few and far between. Still, nabbing unforeseeable fugitives must be a harmful job, and bondsman should take proper preventative measures.

When a defendant is detained and is incapable to afford the bail quantity set by the judge, he normally provides a bondsman a call. After security is agreed upon and the documents is signed, the bondsman provides the bail cash and the defendant goes cost-free. The bail bondsman then ensures that the defendant reveals up in court. Most of the time, everything goes as planned; however, there are also times when the defendant skips out on bail hearings, and the bail bondsman have to seize the “skip” and take him back to prison. Though these conflicts generally aren’t intense, some bondsman hold firearms as an extra safety measure.

A typical concern asked of knowledgeable bondsman is whether becoming a bondsman guarantees you get to carry a gun. Exactly what many individuals don’t realize is that bail bondsmen undergo the exact same guidelines and policies as regular locals. They are not permitted carry firearms unless they have a correct license provided by the state in which they live. Bail Bondsmen are required to take courses specific to the guns they will carry, and the courses have to be administered by companies approved by the State.

The guidelines and laws regarding weapons vary from state to state. For this reason, it is essential for anybody wanting to become a bondsman to be knowledgeable about the policies certain to the state in which they lives, including rules relating to brandishing and releasing guns in public. Though bondsman are allowed to hold weapons and are permitted to capture suspects, they still have to comply with the same guns statutes that routine citizens are anticipated to follow.

In addition to going through certification and training in order to carry a gun, bail bondsmen must pass criminal background checks. If they have prior convictions, they are not allowed to carry guns. Recently, a bail bondsman in Maryland was arrested for having a .38 caliber revolver in his possession. Because of a prior theft conviction, he was prohibited from carrying a handgun.

A bondsman must recognize not just with the laws regarding weapons, but with laws concerning arrest and detention of suspects as well. If a bail bondsman utilizes excessive force when nabbing a defendant, or arrests the wrong individual, he faces prospective claims and even criminal charges. Though the circumstances are couple of, there are times when bail bondsmen encounter harmful “skips” who do not wish to be apprehended. In such scenarios, when a bail bondman’s life is on the line, the question emerges: When is it fine for a bail bondsman to fire a weapon in defense?

In 2008, a Washington man who skipped bail on several outstanding criminal charges was confronted by four bonds agents. The suspect backed his car into one of the agents and the agent, fearing for his life, fatally shot the man. In a separate incident in 2012, it was two California bail bondsmen on the receiving end of the fatal shot, killed while trying to apprehend a defendant who had skipped bail on a drug possession charge. Bail bondsmen have to be prepared for anything. They know that backup is essential, as even one violent incident with a skip can be one too many.

David Viele, a 10-year bail bonds veteran, says that although he holds a weapon, he’s never ever needed to use it, since in the majority of cases, the suspect surrenders. So while the tasks of real bondsman aren’t the dramatization played out on reality TELEVISION, a bondsman’s task can be hazardous and unpredictable. This is why some decide to carry guns. However, bondsman understand they are subject to the same firearm laws as routine locals. For this reason, they are required to undergo firearms training prior to becoming a bail bondsman, and they are held responsible for the method they use their weapons.

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Gregory Smith