Title: How Bounty Hunting Works | HowStuffWorks
Headings: How Bounty Hunting Works
How Bounty Hunting Works
Content: 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. In return for their services, bounty hunters typically receive anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent of the total bail bond. An experienced bounty hunter who works 80 to 150 cases a year can earn anywhere from $50,000 to $80,000 annually. But the hours are long and grueling -- sometimes 80 to 100 hours a week, and the work is tough. " As bounty hunters, we're driving around bad neighborhoods, talking to stupid people, drinking cold coffee, and looking for bad guys -- and they talk about the glory of it all," says Bob Burton, director of The National Enforcement Agency. The real reward, he says, is the adrenaline rush that comes from making an arrest.