Question

I am looking foward to becoming a bail enforcement agent really soon and have read all the bea faqs and everything. I just had a question to ask. I have been reading lately that bail bondsmen do not hire any bail enforcement agents that look like swat or rambo. Can yoou please tell me what kind of clothes you can wear during bounty hunting. Are BDU pants okay and what do bondsmen look for in a bail enforcement agents. Thanks alot. GOD Bless.

You are a salesman when soliciting contracts from potential clients. This is probably the single biggest aspect of free lance bounty hunting that beginning BEA's do not grasp.

You need to be professionally dressed, suit n tie if you have it, or at least nice dress slacks, pressed, a dress shirt and blazer, and most importantly shined shoes.

Why the emphasis on shined shoes ? There is alot of psychology behind what a person's shoes says about them. As a matter of fact 1 of the news shows just did a piece on this very topic.

You are making a first impression, selling yourself to a total stranger. No different than any other door to door salesperson.

You need professional attire, brochures, and business cards. You also need to treat your sales call just like you would a professional job interview. HR experts state that during an interview, the person doing the hiring makes up thier mind within the first 30 seconds of the interview. So you figure that's all you have to convince a total stranger to switch from old faithful to untried and unknown rookie.

Now once you have a contract or case, the case will determine how you should dress. Most professionals go in plain clothes, as every day guys. Nice, easy, quiet apprehensions.

Sometimes, though, you will get a case they may require tactical gear/clothing.

For the most part I wear khakis, polo's, henleys, turtlenecks, with sportcoats/blazers, and polished wing tipped shoes. What we refer here to as "Business casual".

Just the other day, while reviewing some of my cases in a local cafe during lunch time, in walked half of our county courthouse staffers, including 4 judges...most of whom I knew. Had I been in a poor state of dress, I would have made a poor presentation of myself tot hose who didn't know me. You never know who you will meet or have to go see during an investigation.

Remember, there are multiple facets to making bounty hunting a viable business.

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River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

I agree. You have to blend in with your AO.

I am in a very small town, where anything other than jeans (or shorts in the summer) and a T-shirt are questioned. This works for my accounting, bonding, and BE work. A suit and/or tie immediately identifies you as an attorney, judge, or outsider. Since this is my preferred attire, it works for me. My clients relate to me, trust me, and are more comfortable with me, because of this. But, what works for me now in my AO, did not work in other AO's.

When I worked in larger areas, in the accounting profession, I was expected to dress accordingly, and I did. It was very professional (suits, professional dresses, etc) during the week, and business casual (slacks and nice blouses) on Fridays. Jeans were only allowed on rare occassions and they had to meet very strict standards. One CPA firm that I worked for in Dallas went so far as to call a meeting and show a film on what they considered appropriate dress. Clients expected to see their version of a professional, and we complied.

I would suggest that you do your research and find out what works in your area. Attend court hearings, and see what other's wear. This will give you an idea of how to present yourself. You may not have to be as formal for an interview, but always be professional. If you show up in BDU's and SWAT gear, chances are that you will not be hired. Business professional attire, such as Ruffin described, is pretty much acceptable nationwide these days.

Once you have a job, don't get stupid. Professionals research their local laws and their subject and dress and act accordingly. Blend in and make a quiet apprehension when you can. If the facts preclude this, do what you need to within your local laws, or call in LE if you have to, or if that is the prudent course of action. The main goal is not to get work, but to go home safely.

_________________
Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

Q: What do bondsmen look for in a BEA ?


Every bondsperson (alot of female owned bonding companies now) is different. Being unique individuals, they each have thier own criteria regarding all aspects of the business, including BEA's.

However, I will try to give you some general guidelines, which others will add to as well:

1) We already covered attire during the sales call.

2) They look for intelligence more so than braun. Remember, the objective is to help them exonerate thier bond...by whatever means neccessary, this doesn't always mean "cuffing and stuffing".

3) They look for a person who is organized, manages time well. Remember in this business, TIME IS MONEY. I have the majority of the recovery business in my town. If I can't get anywhere one 1 client's cases, I move on to the others, eventually something will break. For a few days I couldn't get anywhere on any of them. then the next day 1 case resolved itself, then others right behind them. That's the way it works. I get more cases exonerated via the phone and computer than by physically arresting someone.

4) Learn the entire bail bonds business inside and out. You have to have a fundamental understanding of the trade as a whole to even understand how to do recovery work.

5) Know your bail laws inside and out. Don't just read them once, study them...they are your livelihood. When I train someone I print out our state statutes for them and drill them repeatedly during the training. Why ? Several reasons. If you know your laws, then it's possible for you to write legal motions on behalf of your bondsperson to be relieved of the bond because your fugitive is/was in jail in another jurisdiction thereby prohibiting him/her from appearing in court on your client's case.

Next Reason: Educating CJ industry. Most of them are ignorant regarding bail laws. When dealing with them, it is impressive if you can quote from the statutes " 1975 code of Alabama title 15 chapter 13 section 15-13-123...states: yadda yadda yadda".You have now given them a point of reference that they can go research for themselves.

An example: When I was in Ca. My trainer had me go with him on a court case to watch him present a motion for exoneration to the judge. The only thing is my trainer was too relaxed about it. He simply asked the judge to be relieved because the person was in jail. No paperwork, no point of reference etc. The motion was denied. The next month, the case came before the same judge again. This time I was selected to make the request. So I did all of the research, printed out the laws, physically practiced my presentation at home, and basically had all of my ducks in a row.

When our case was called I stood up, asked the judge to be heard, stated who and what I was, and made my request in the following manner: " I respectfully request our client be exonerated as prescribed by Ca. penal code........" When I finished the judge looked at me, and asked me "Because the def. is in jail correct ?" I was stunned ! He was the judge...he is supposed to know this stuff! I simply stated "Yes Sir." The motion was granted.

There was no difference in what my FTO and I had requested, but there was a difference in the manner of presentation and the fact that I gave the judge no room to not grant it.

6) The biggest concern for surety companies is liability...period. So any one they contract with will come under close scrutiny by them. They have to feel confident that you are not going to screw up to the point that you get them sued and possibly put out of business.

So to sum it up: They look for professionalism, intelligence, skilled and knowledgeable people, and good people skills. This is a people business. If you can't deal with our "Melting Pot" population on a variety of levels and cultures, then you are handicapping yourself. This is where being fluent in other languages is beneficial as well.

Along these same lines you have to keep 1 important fact in mind: bail bond companies, like all others, rely heavily on repeat business. So even if you have to re-apprehend someone, that doesn't mean your client wont re-bond them. So you have to remember that you are representing your client when you are conducting your investigation..and beleive me they do get called about your actions..No one appreciates having a bounty hunter come to their homes, jobs, recreational activities, and possibly be put in an embarrassing situation. This is where you can hurt a client's business. Always remember who and what you are representing.

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River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

One more thing we look for is, knowledge of the local area. You must have contacts with local LE, businesses and the street to be able to get and track down leads. Where do the drug deals go down? Who buys and sells stolen property? Who has a contact at the welfare office? How about the post office?

If you recall "Dogs" first show of this year where he came to CA looking for a football palyer, remember they didn't stake out anyplace. Why? They couldn't! They didn't know the area, stuck out like a bunch of clowns and had no idea where they were going. As the other post stated you need to know how to blend in with the average person in that area. Not only by the clothes you wear, also by what you drive!

In the SF Bay Area, if you don't know the area you are working in, you will not only not find your skip, you can get killed very quickly! That is why we will not hire anyone new to the area.

Exellent point Kathy....researching your target's AO before working in it.

Tony..Excellent point as well. That is where networking with fellow local BEA's comes into play. I have no problem farming out of state work out to local BEA's. They know the target area, have the contacts, etc. All of the things you mentioned.

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River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601