So, you’re interested in how much a bounty hunter makes? Unfortunately, due to the nature of the career, the actual salary of a bounty hunter can vary dramatically – and will depend a lot on the bounty hunter’s level of training and time commitment to the craft. In a nutshell, a bounty hunter’s salary can be as low as $5000/year to well over $200,000/year and beyond.
A person is arrested, and a bond is set by the court depending on the nature of the crime. If the individual can come up with the cash, he/she is released on condition that they appear for their court date. Many individuals who are arrested don’t have the money to make bail, so they call a bail bond company. The bail bond company pays the court whatever the bail is set at, and the prisoner is released on condition. Their fee is 10-20% of the bonded amount. If the individual does not show up for their court date “jumps bail”, the bond is forfeited. A bail enforcement agent is then hired to track down and apprehend the subject. The fee is 10-20% of the total bonded amount.
For Example: Let’s say the bail bond agent pays $40,000 for their client to make bail. Then, the person doesn’t show up for their court date. A Bounty Hunter “Bail Enforcement Agent is then called in to find the fugitive. Upon capture, the individual is brought back to jail. 10% or $4000 of the total bonded amount is earned.
Just by finding a fugitive and taking him back to jail can yield several thousand dollars in a single day! If you’re tough enough and can handle the heat, then why not give it a try. You’ll never know if you’ll like the business if you don’t give it a shot.
If you talk to any bounty hunter “bail enforcement agent”, they will all say the same thing. If you try it once, you’ll never want to stop.
A bounty hunter, or fugitive recovery agent, is a person who apprehends fugitives in exchange for a monetary reward “bounty”. If a defendant fails to show up for a court appearance, he is then considered a fugitive. When this happens, the bail bond company will hire a bounty hunter to recover the fugitive. The term “Fugitive Recovery” Agent is preferred by those in the industry over the more derogatory “bounty hunter” because the term “bounty hunter” conjures up images of the old west with its “dead or alive posters” and rewards offered in exchange for the fugitive. A fugitive recovery agent works for a percentage of the bail amount, not a reward. Other names include Bail Agent, Bail Enforcement Agent, Bail Officer, Fugitive Recovery Agent, Fugitive Recovery Officer, or Bail Fugitive Recovery Specialist.
In order to become a bounty hunter, you must have experience with how the bail bonds industry works. In addition, the bounty hunter must be proficient in other skills such as detecting deceit, surveillance, skip tracing and negotiation. A bounty hunter must also know how to research and investigate missing persons. He must be able to access and analyze phone records of the fugitive’s family and friends. He will have to know how to dig into the fugitive’s past and find all past residences. He will need to learn the fugitive’s habits, vices, friends, enemies and hangouts. In other words, a bounty hunter must have good investigative skills.
The Math and Logic Behind a Bounty Hunter’s Salary
A full time bounty hunter will usually work directly with a bail bondsman. A bail-bondsmen makes money when they front money to a prisoner that can’t afford to pay their bail fee. For example, if a prisoner’s bail is set at $5000, the bail bondsman can charge a percentage of the $5000. The percentage is a fee (usually around 10 percent) and is non-refundable. This is the bondsman’s fee and is kept in order to allow someone to get out of prison until their appointed court hearing. The $5000 is returned to the prisoner only under the condition which the prisoner shows up for the hearing.
This inherently dangerous yet highly lucrative assignment captures the imagination of would-be bond recovery agents that are looking for the necessary information in this seemingly tight-lipped, secretive industry. The sheer thrill of tracking someone down through cutting-edge investigative techniques, then executing a plan to capture the fugitive is something that cannot be described. The power and control that bounty hunters possess intimidates & overwhelms even the most hardened of criminals who continue to snub their noses at authority.
The process is fairly straightforward, except when the prisoner can’t pay up and skips town (jumpers). Jumpers are a nickname given those who don’t show up to their hearing (uh-oh), and still owe the bail bondsman his fee plus his initial investment. In this case, $5000 dollars + $500. This is where a bounty hunter makes his mark on the world, and their salary. The bondsman hires a bounty hunter to track the jumper and recover his property, so to speak. The bail-bondsmen will then pay the bounty hunter for recovery of the property (this number is usually around 10 percent) in order to avoid losing their $5000 investment. Their profit is then zeroed out because the fee they charged to the bounty hunter. It is a win win situation for all parties involved.
Tips to Increase Your Salary as a Bounty Hunter
Location, Location, Location! The location factor is one of the largest of influences on a salary of a bounty hunter. The name of the game is catching people, and the more people in a city means more jobs or jumpers to catch. This also means the bail amount is raised because a person will be harder to track or the local government has more money to expel. More money is allocated to culprits with a higher level of prior convictions. In New York, a bail may be anywhere between $3500 to $25000 or more for a jailbird with a criminal history. If a bail is set at $50,000 and a bounty hunter has to catch the jumper, the bounty hunter will make $5000 assuming he/she is operating at ten percent.
Currently, there are thousands of training programs & schools across the United States that teach people how to become professional bounty hunters, unfortunately, most them charge thousands of dollars and cannot provide the inside information needed to become a Bail Enforcement Agent or Bounty Hunter.
Women In The Bounty Hunting Business
Women are playing an increasingly active role in the Bounty Hunting Business, especially in the field. There are currently thousands of Men & Women Bounty Hunters “bail enforcement agents” across the United States that have been working together to apprehend fugitives for years, and now there’s even a T.V. program on Women Bounty Hunters.
The fact is, a woman who is interested in engaging in this type of business may choose to operate her own Fugitive Recovery Service where she would act as a manager and set up the captures, work as an administrator at an existing bounty hunting operation, or take a more hands on approach and assist in the capture of bail jumpers.
For fugitive recovery agencies to be truly successful, a female component is needed in the apprehension of fugitives. Our eBook will provide you with everything you need to become successful, regardless of which role you’re looking to play. This is a very lucrative business for women, as it is for men.
Market Your Brand and Reputation
Bail Bond Companies & Freelance Bounty Hunters “fugitive recovery agents” work in sync using the network of backdoor bail bond companies to apprehend subjects. Our reference tutorial and our company act as a gateway to the network of agents so that everybody makes money. Without direct access to bail bond companies, securing contracts “bond forfeitures” will become a daunting task for new hunters.
Bounty hunting is a business just like any other. Making a nice salary includes working hard and building up a clientele. This includes networking and having the most jobs at your disposal. If the bounty hunter in question has a reputation of being fast and accurate then they are more likely to get the best paid jobs from the bail-bondsmen. Marketing one’s abilities will be a big part of this career and it will take dedication to build a reputation which allows for comfortable living.
The key to success in any industry is knowledge, determination, persistence, experience & connections. You can be the best bounty hunter “bail enforcement agent” in your state, but if you don’t know how to capitalize on it, then your business will simply flounder. The bounty hunting industry consists of a circle of businesses and tight relationships. Knowing who to contact to win the next contract is crucial, regardless of which state you plan on working out of.
Private Investigation Plays A Vital Role In Apprehension of Fugitives
In today’s modern world, most bounty hunters, private investigators and bail enforcement agents spend a substantial amount of their time behind a computer.
Skip Tracing: is the electronic means of tracking down a suspect. The Internet has become a powerful tool in the search for fugitives. Skip Tracing, in nearly every case, plays a key role when hunting down a fugitive. Everyone leaves a paper trail and has a history, so by having the proper skip tracing tools on hand, tracking down a fugitive can become a very easy thing to do.
Within our link section, you will find search tools & directories for the following: Email & Phone Book Directories, Online White Page Directories, Phone Prefix Locator, Cell Phones, Cell Phone Carrier Info, Maps, Email Searches, Area-Zip Code Finders, SSN Searchers, Domain Name, Credit Cards, Military Records, Boats and Vessels, Hotel/Motel Locators, Foreign Embassies, Missing Kids, OSHA Accidents, U.S. Criminal Records, Manufacturers, Hunting and Fishing, Stolen Guns, Most Wanted, Unclaimed Property, Notary Lookups, Law Enforcement, Bowlers, Western Union, Death Records and Search Tools, Cemetery Records, Prison Search Sites, Parole Resources, Sex Offender, Vehicle Driving Records, Vital Records, State/Criminal Records, Hunting and Fishing, Newsgroups, Aviation, Real Property Records, Date of Birth, Mail Drops, Professional Licensing, Credit/Collections, Ham Radio, Public School Locator, High School Alumni, Business, Courthouse Info, Genealogy, Homeless Missing, SIC Codes, Lobbyist Directory, Selective Service, eBay by Seller, UCC Searches, State Corporate Records, Bankruptcy Searches, Medical People, Lawyers/Legal, Teachers, Taxi Cab Locators, Federal Corporate Filings, Banks and Stock Directories and Searches, Apartment Locators, Federal Government Directories, Political Contributions, Date of Birth Records, Non-Profit, Pensions, Immigration Records, Tracking Service for Packages, plus so much more…
By using online skip tracing & investigative tools online, you’ll be able to empower yourself with the tools and resources necessary to track down fugitives at all levels both in the U.S. and Internationally.
Whether you are hired by a bail bond company to capture a fugitive or looking to assist in the capture of a fugitive, you will find these online investigative tools invaluable. As you learn how to use these tools, you will become more efficient, which means you’ll be able to capture more fugitives and make more money.