While both roles are intertwined, they have distinct responsibilities and legal boundaries. When facing a legal issue, a bail bondsman is your first point of contact to secure your release, while a bounty hunter is the professional called upon when individuals fail to meet their legal obligations.
Bail bond agents can carry firearms (like regular citizens) and make arrests in California. However, they do not have the same power as police officers to investigate crimes, enforce traffic laws, or cordon off specific areas.
Like officers, bounty hunters should keep their license with them at all times while pursuing a fugitive. However, they are not allowed to pose as officers or even wear badges that may make them look like officers. Except in rare cases, a bounty hunter cannot forcibly enter your place of residence.
(4) “Bail fugitive recovery agent” means a person licensed pursuant to Section 1802.3 of the Insurance Code who is provided written authorization pursuant to Section 1300 or 1301 by the bail or depositor of bail, and is contracted to investigate, surveil, locate, and arrest a bail fugitive for surrender to the ...
Authority of Bail Bond Agents Bail bond agents can carry firearms (like regular citizens) and make arrests in California. However, they do not have the same power as police officers to investigate crimes, enforce traffic laws, or cordon off specific areas.
Bail enforcement agents have the authority to arrest fugitives who have skipped bail but their jurisdiction is limited. They must operate within the legal framework of the state where the bail was granted and where they are attempting to apprehend the fugitive.
Vermont does not require bounty hunters to hold any type of license. Bounty hunters, or those who have the power to arrest fugitives from law, must simply gain authorization to apprehend fugitives in Vermont.
At the time of writing, there are eight states that do not allow private bail bondsmen (or have very strict policies), namely Washington, D.C, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Illinois, Maine, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Oregon. Additionally, each state has different prerequisites (such as age, criminal history, etc.)
As of 2008, only four states, Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon and Wisconsin, had abolished commercial/for-profit bail bonds by bail bondsmen and required deposits to courts instead. As of 2012 Nebraska and Maine in addition to the aforementioned Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon and Wisconsin prohibited surety bail bonds.