WHAT WE CALL OURSELVES

Seems the same ol topics come up every year......

_________________
River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

I know this post is too long, but I had to add some ideas and or opinions:

Agent...Contractual term, valid for what we do where applicable by law, you do have a written contract, right?

Special Agent...no place for it in our business. Too many alusions to LEO.

My pet peeve as well, many newbies come to my bail offices looking for work, they didn't have any and therefore were not an agent of anyone, let alone "Special".

Remember, identifying ourselves as LEO or intimating it requires us to have a search warrant to enter a house...color of law. As bondsman or their agents, and it is a first party house, with implied consent...you know the drill.

CCW... There is a major diference between a personal protection permit and a "working" permit. The latter generally requires annual recertification
while the primary does not. Get caught making a re-arrest with a non-working permit by a knowledgable officer...Besides, with a CCW, nobody should know that you are even carrying.

Lastly, one of my sons and I were recovering a poor lost sole in Montgomery, AL. We checked in with the locals (as we always do) and were glad that we did. They actually had a "Bondsman's contact form" for us to fill out. They told a story of a LEO shot dead at a stoplight by a fleeing felon being persued on foot by a bondsman or his agent, both armed. He saw them spring from between two buildings, got out of his cruiser and was shot and killed. They blamed our industry for his death, insisting it would have been different if they had checked in first.
"We don't back up bondsmen" comes to mind as I have heard it many times.

If I have to go across state lines into and through states that are unfriendly to the gun permits I possess, I don't carry at all. I conduct my investigation and request LEO back up. Absent that, I hire a local of good report and well reccomended

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)

I AGREE SOMEWHAT WITH YOU RUFFIN, BUT:

LANCE YOU HAVE MY VOTE ON THE DROPPING OF SPECIAL AGENT


HOWEVER I OWN MY BUSINESS WHICH INCLUDES EXTRADITION (PRISONER TRANSPORTING) AND FUGITIVE RECOVERY AND I SERVICE ALL STATES IN THE UNION (FOLLOWING GUIDELINE/LAWS) THEREFORE I CHOOSE TO USE THE U.S. IN THE NAME , I DO NOT , HAVE NOT, WILL NOT EVER MIS-REPRESENT MYSELF AS A LEO , IF THE PERSON MIS-UNDERSTANDS THE MEANING SO-BE IT THEIR MISTAKE...AS LONG AS NO LAWS ARE BROKEN DURING THIS PROCESS...WE ALL KNOW PEOPLE TELL MORE THINGS(INFO) TO LEO's THAN TO BOUNTYHUNTERS SO IF THEY CHOOSE TO THINK I AM AN AGENT WITH A LAW ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT AND TELL ME WHERE MY SKIP IS HIDING ,WHY WOULD I CARE AND WHY IN THE HELL SHOULD ANYBODY ELSE CARE WHAT I CALL MYSELF IF I AM PROFESSIONAL AND DO NOT LEAVE A BAD TASTE SO TO SPEAK FOR MY FIELD...PLEASE ANYONE AND EVERYONE RESPOND I WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS.........


TRUELY WE CAN FIND BETTER THING TO TALK ABOUT THAN THIS SUBJECT. OR CAN WE???

WHY USE THE NAME CEO INSTEAD OF PRESIDENT, MAYBE WE CAN USE "TOP DOG " OR " FINAL SAY" OR "THE BUCK STOPS HERE GUY" SO THERE IS NO MISTAKING THE POISITION....

OH ONE MORE THING REAL QUICK,

AS LONG AS I CAN STILL CASH MY CHECK AT THE END OF A TOUR I COULD CARE LESS WHAT ANYONE HAS TO SAY ABOUT ME CALLING MYSELF AN AGENT



EFFECTIVE TODAY I WILL BE CHANGING MY "RANK" IF YOU WILL FROM PRESIDENT TO AGENT IN CHARGE

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND PATRONAGE IN THIS MATTER HAVE A BLESSED DAY AND BE SAFE ALWAYS

James,

I know you are a good recovery agent. Having said that, I do have some concerns about the way you do represent yourself.

1) I respectfully request that you cease typing in all caps all of the time. It is hard to read and unprofessional.

2) I don't know if you are still dressing in all black "SWAT" like attire wearing a cap with the word "MARSHALL" in big letters across the front of it. I do know that in several states, especially Ga and Fla, that type of attire is forbidden by law in thier state statutes and you are subject to arrest on site if you run into a LEO who knows bail law.

The one time we worked together you saw my attire: dress slacks, turtleneck, wool blazer and black, wing tip shoes. Nothing about me said "LEO". I know Alabama does not have any regulations on BEA attire as of yet, but the concern is being mistaken for a LEO by a reasonable person. Any DA worth thier salt could make a solid case against anyone for impersonation dressed in all black military or swat like uniforms.

The professional industry as a whole does not do this. Most of us wear regular street clothes, or "urban camoflauge"..i.e. if your skip is in construction then I will dress in hard hats, steel toe boots, tool belts, etc....you get the idea..to blend in with your skips environment.

3) You say you don't leave a bad impression on the industry. You don't know that. I can't tell you how many war stories I've heard from cops bad mouthing unprofessional bounty hunters. The general opinion is if you want to be a cop..then be one...if you want to be a professional BEA then dress and act like it. No matter what city I have been in I have always gotten exceptional LEO co-operation save 1. I accomplish this by being professional, submissive, respectful, and obeying thier protocalls.

I and others who know you, would appreciate it if you would drop the Rambo routine and simply dress normally and quietly. Stop drawing attention to yourself in your "I.D" rags.

I offer these comments in a professional critique, not a personal attack. As I prefaced the beginning of this response, you have proven yourself skilled and adept at recovering fugitives; now if we can just get you to tone down some, you have the potential of being even better than you are now.

_________________
River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

[quote="rex"]Robert,

I am a 'blazer' when the situation calls for making it absolutley clear that my actions arrive from enforcing a private, civil, bail contract--thus eliminating any problems associated with the "reasonable" person element of impersonation.

However, California law specifically disallows a BEA from the use of any uniform or badge that represents the wearer as any sworn law enforcement officer or belonging any part or department of a federal, state or federal local government, or the display of United States, Bureau, Task Force, Federal or any substantially similar words that a "reasonable person" may mistake for a government agency.

Whether or not to use a uniform or bail related ID patches or even a badge is highly subjective and contingent upon the facts of the investigation (threat level), availablity of police assistance, and the laws of a specific state or local jurisdiction as to whether or not such ID clothing is permissible.

Then we get back to the "reasonable person" discussion.

If one shows up in street clothes but is wearing a gun, pepper spray, baton, handcuffs, raid jacket, badge, and is stating that he or she has 'a warrant for the arrest of' so an so, then the reasonable person can, arguably, state a reasonable belief that he or she thought that the callers are law enforcement by and through the collective ensemble of police-like equipment absent any other bail related identifiers.

My point isn't meant to be argumentative but rather to widen the subject for meaningful discussion regarding the original intent of this thread, which is "What Do We Call Ourselves."

Howabout raid style jackets with the name of the bail bond company or even "BAIL BONDS" where such verbiage is lawful? If one must wear a badge then howabout "Bail Bond Investigator?"

In any case, I would suggest staying away from anything that comes close to a federal agency or even looks like the size, shape, color or wording of any federal agency to include the badge style of the local agency where you are working.





If I am correct Agent Means private Civilian hired by an agency to act on their behalf.

I wear the black SWAT Gear only because 95% of the time i apprehend my subjects at night therefore black attire would seem fit do you not agree? also as far as the Rambo Routine? WTF??? Rambo's a sissy i am alot better than a fake movie character.... i am REAL life..but thanks for the concern.....you know what disreguard all but the black SWAT attire at night have a great day

I would have to agree with R.W. Blaylock in regards to attire on the job. It may be acceptable in your area to wear SWAT looking gear but the perception you are portraying is not very positive anywhere you go. I do not think in his post he was calling you a Rambo it is the perception you are giving to J.Q. public that you are one because they do not know any better. In this business the less attention we give to the public and LEO that we are something that we are not the better off we will be as an industry.

I know it seems that it may be a personal attack and I assure you that it is not, it is only meant as an observation of every author's post and to offer some advice on what we all are trying to accomplish in this industry that seems to be under attack from the public, LEO and the news media. If we can present ourselves well mannered, well dressed or blending in with the environment, well spoken, well informed and respectful of LEO, the public and our targets we will go a long ways in trying to reverse the negative portrayal we have received from the areas mentioned above.

Bob,

i thank you for your input as always i respect my more experienced recovery persons with your creditals... ruffin you still the man although i never called you... let me rephaze that stated you acted like a rambo


sorry i dont wear dress clothes while picking up skips(unless it calls for it at the time)