The term bounty hunter had different meanings until the 1950s.Īnother reason the history of bounty hunting is difficult to pin down is that it didn’t take on its current meaning until the 1950s. Faced with widespread criticism, both acts were repealed in 1864, but it helped normalize the act of bounty hunting in U.S. This led to many enslavers hiring bounty hunters to do the work for them.Ī revised act was put into law in 1850 that encouraged local governments and ordinary citizens, free state or not, to help capture any enslaved people who had fled. This gave enslavers the legal right to track down and forcibly return any enslaved people who had sought freedom, even ones who went to free states. Bounty hunters became a bigger-and far more unfortunate-part of American history in 1793, when Congress enacted the first of two Fugitive Slave Acts. This eventually developed into a monetary bail system, which was later adopted by the United States (America took inspiration from many of England’s judiciary policies, sans the monarchy, when the Constitution was written). If the accused decided to flee, the surety would be punished in their place. In that system, an accused criminal would be assigned a “surety,” or a person (a friend or family member) who would make sure they showed up for any trials and went through with any punishments handed down. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when the practice of hiring professionals to track down bail jumpers first began, but the bail system itself can be traced back as far as Medieval England. The history of bounty hunters is hard to pin down. But in popular usage, this is what a bounty hunter is. That’s part of why these people often prefer to be known as Fugitive Recovery or Bail Enforcement Agents, since they’re actually just enforcing conditions of bail bond contracts (proper bounty hunters are motivated by rewards offered by governments or other entities). Although many may mistake them as members of law enforcement, they actually work with bail bond companies and are paid a percentage of the bail amount once they have successfully returned their target. However, if the defendant flees, the bail bond company loses their deposit unless the person appears in court within the designated grace period. They also rely on the defendant showing up to court to get their money back. If they do, they’ll get their money back.īail bond companies operate by agreeing to pay a defendant’s deposit for a fee (usually 10 percent of the overall bail amount). Bail is a deposit the defendant makes to the courthouse with the promise that they will return for all court proceedings in the future. When someone is arrested, they have the opportunity to leave jail until their court date by paying bail. A bounty hunter’s job revolves around bail money. Here are some rewarding facts about this fascinating and controversial profession. While the title has an attachment to that time period, there is a lot more to know about bounty hunting than what's usually portrayed in popular media. When you think of bounty hunters, you probably conjure up images of “Wanted” posters and cowboys tracking down fugitives in the Wild West.
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