Fugitive Recovery

Fugitive Recovery

by John Van Schaik


fugitive recovery
What Should I know about fugitive recovery?

No one wants to get into trouble with the law. And, no one who has gotten into legal trouble wants to spend a single minute more than necessary in jail. This is why bail bondsmen, such as those of us at Around the Clock Bail bonds, exist – to help you post bond and get home to your family as quickly as possible. And, we are happy to assist in most cases.

However, once in a while we encounter folks who don’t have a full understanding of what can go wrong, and that’s when Around the Clock Bailbonds becomes involved with fugitive recovery. You see, when we post bond for you, we are promising the court that we’ll be responsible for your appearance when they summon you back to trial. If you hide or escape, you become a deserter, a fugitive, and we have to initiate fugitive recovery efforts. We hire a runner to track you down, bring you back and turn you over to the authorities to be returned to jail. If we can’t find you, we are on the hook to pay the court the full amount of bail, so we take this fugitive recovery exercise very seriously, and so should you.

Who are the professionals in a fugitive recovery scenario?

North Carolina statutes are very detailed about licensing requirements for those of us who provide bail and those whose job centers on fugitive recovery. Here are a couple of legal definitions to help you understand our world a little better:

Bail bondsman – any person who has been approved and licensed by the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance and who promises cash or assets as a guarantee for bail bonds written as a result of a court hearing, and receives, or is promised money or things of value for this service.

Runner – a person hired by the bail bondsman to assist in presenting the accused in court, or to help with fugitive recovery and surrender to the court, or to keep the accused person under surveillance if needed; also referred to as a bounty hunter.

Both bail bondsmen and runners who conduct fugitive recovery must be qualified and licensed. Qualifications include:

  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Be a resident of North Carolina
  • Be trained and/or experienced to a level of competence to fulfill all responsibilities
  • Have no unresolved bail bond responsibilities
  • Have no current or prior violations of North Carolina General Statutes Articles that deal with these issues
  • Not have been lawfully disqualified by any state to participate in bail bonding services

In addition to these requirements, a runner who conducts fugitive recovery (1) can only be employed by one professional bail bondsman; and (2) is supervised by the bail bondsman who is responsible for that runner’s professional behavior. If fugitive recovery runners have previously been employed by other bail bondsmen, he or she must furnish a complete list of prior employers and reasons the relationship ended.

Questions? Call us at today and we’ll help you understand your options.

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