Title: How Bounty Hunting Works | HowStuffWorks
Headings: How Bounty Hunting Works
How Bounty Hunting Works
Content: The more serious the crime, the higher the bail amount. For the most dangerous criminals, no bail is set at all -- they must remain in police custody. Not everyone who is accused of a crime can afford bail money, which can run into the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars. In those cases, a bail bondsman will step in and put up a bail bond -- sort of like a loan -- in return for a percentage (usually 10 percent) of the total bail. The bail bondsman will then secure a bail bond from an insurance company. The bail bond acts as insurance guaranteeing that the accused will show up for his or her scheduled court appearance. But if the accused decides to skip town and miss the court appearance (which about 20 percent do), the bail bond must be paid -- and it's the bondsman who must pay it. ( For this reason, bondsmen usually require collateral from the accused, such as property or a car title.) Because bondsmen are liable for the bail bond amount, and the police can't always find their man (or woman), many bondsmen hire a professional bounty hunter -- or bail enforcement agent, as they prefer to be called -- to track down "skips." More than one bounty hunter may be assigned to the same case, but professional agents tend to shy away from cases with too much competition.