How often are weapons involved?

As in any line of work, pay attention to detail, know your laws to the finest grain, do your research, be proffessional at all times, never go alone, and use the element of Surprise. By doing these things, you should never find yourself in a situation in which a weapon should be drawn. If your going to wear swat attire, the subject might see you coming and get ready to do what they do best. Hide and protect themselves. Yet, if do low impact recovery, they won't realize what hit them until they are already in handcuffs. Ive never had to draw a gun. Last thing you will want is to end up in the back of a cruser with the person who's door you kicked. Knowing your law is very important as well, like in VA, you will account for whatever is behind the person you shoot and are not protected by the castle law as in KY. Then again things can go sour quickly, but thanks to God that has not been my case. Be blessed. Last but not least, most people on here are more experienced than I, so lend them an ear. Peace be with you.

Thank you both for your insightful replies!



Excellent! This is exactly the sort of info I needed, thank you SpanielPI. I am ordering "Modern Bounty Hunting" right now because I have heard it is full of helpful knowledge. Any thing else I should pick up?

Also, I was thinking about taking the online course through beabountyhunter.com. I have heard good things about it and based on the list of the subjects covered, it seems VERY detailed. Is this a good place to start?

Thanks again

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Andrew Harrison
Phoenix, Arizona
No experience currently, but looking to get my feet wet

I assume everyone is carrying a weapon.
Any other mindset would be dangerous.
I don't care if you are an 18yr old female who barely weighs 100lbs or a 30yr old male weighing in at 250;
You're getting the same treatment in that regard.
Caution is key.

_________________
(Freelance) Recovery Agent, MN.

Accidit in puncto, quod non seperatur in anno!

semper paratus

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

Not everyone is armed. 85% of my apprehensions have been unarmed. Those that know how I operate understand why. Ever been a 1 armed Bounty Hunter? Hold a gun on an unarmed man who has been in and out of the system for years and is more cognizant of the law than most attorneys and see what happens. Are you going to shoot him? What would it cost to defend yourself, even if the case were to be dismissed or ruled a justifiable homicide? How much money did you stand to make on the case? There are disparate personalities in this business. I have known people who do Process Service and have altercations every time, while others that never seem to have an issue...As an aside, if I am armed, you will never know it

Scott

_________________
R.E. "Scott" MacLean III

"Leaders are like Eagles, you never see them in a flock, but one at a time"

Chesapeake Group Investigations, Inc.
Chesapeake Bail Bonds
877-574-0500
301-392-1100 (fax)
301-392-1900 (Office)

Bill,

Put down the "Apple Pie" and stop slurring your words

I use to work concert security, heavy metal and hip hop shows mostly.
My attitude comes from that; the crowd control mentality of detaining someone and making sure that no bystanders are injured, by you or the possible threat.

semper paratus?... except the time I was facing a would-be mugger and reached for my 16in asp that was normally in my jacket, and realized I left it at home that morning because I was just walking to the store. Semper Paratus more so after that.

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(Freelance) Recovery Agent, MN.

Let me first say IMHO based on thirty six years of professional experience of which twenty four years was as a police officer, that law enforcement officers do not use weapons to command compliance in general, there must be some perceived threat to the officer or others. The equipment that an officer carries on his batman utility belt is for defensive use only. The law enforcement officer is subject to criminal sanctions just as any citizen would be for the misuse of any weapon.

Now as it relates to your question, I am a firm advocate of low impact recovery as it relates to bail enforcement. This profession has come a long way over the years, however I do not know of any state laws that have afforded a bail enforcement agent sworn status. Last year alone there was no less than ten law enforcement officers killed serving arrest wants for fugitives, if these bandits had no thought about killing law enforcement officers, what would they do to a bail enforcement agent. Now with that said we are not law enforcement nor do we need to be to do this job. Oh yes there are many a cowboys out there that want to project that image to the public, however that is just a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Then there is the issue of going so-called tactical, i.e. SWAT/ERT/SRT geared up, most states that regulate bail enforcement agents have a ban against the use of any such gear or clothing that would give ordinary citizens an impression of a bail agent being a sworn law enforcement officer anyway as it should be. Being tactical or going tactical should be a mindset based on facts, through investigation, review, and pre-planning, not on what you wear or how much gear you are carrying.

When there is an occasion for me to conduct street level investigations I like to carry the Super Soaker water pistol which is also known as the 1.1G Watermen, wear casual clothing and a pair of the ubiquitous tactical sandals made famous by Speezack Tactical Streetware.

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Domestic Security Investigations
P.O. Box 4462
Rockville, MD 20849
Tel: 1-800-387-0787
Anti-Moral Majority Club President
"Fear not the unknown, Fear the person who controls the unknown" Gene 7:14

Sorry, I kind of stopped reading right there.

Ever hear the saying, "Live by the gun, die by the gun?" I do carry, but it is my intent never to use. In my opinion, if a weapon is drawn, somebody screwed up.

I've been doing loss prevention, as my main source of income, for about four years. Both companies I've worked for, are hands on, meaning we can use more than words to get people back in the door.

The first company I worked for, we always worked in teams of at least two people. We had to go hands on quite a bit, usually because whoever I was working with escalated the situation when it didn't need to be.

The company I work for now, I work alone. You would think that with less back up people would be more likely to fight and try to get away since they have better odds. I've gone hands on once. I always go out with my hand-cuffs in my pocket, but I've never had to use them.

In LP, in BE, and in other aspects of life, It's all about the approach.

_________________
Demian Ross
Acacia Consulting Group
916.241.FIND(3463)
1.877.556.3678
California PC1299 Compliant Fugitive Recovery
Process Serving
Mobile Notary
Security Consulting

Has anyone here seen the television series "Americas Hardest Bounty Hunters"? These BEA's literally get into a standoff in what seems like every other bust. They do have the SWAT/Raid mentality though, which is definitely not something that appeals to me. Also, I'd just like to say that I am aware a reality show is not the best source for fugitive recovery info, but I just thought it would be a good example for those of you that have seen it

Remember that only the 1% of action in the job makes for good TV. If they tried to use all the hours of sitting watching, wrong houses ect... it would make a very boring show.

_________________
Mike
Norcal Bail Enforcement
San Jose Ca.
360 237 1721 efax
408 402 2710 work cell
DOI Bail Agent Lic 1844214
BSIS G1533544

Go hug a Tree