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Why do we do this work?
http://fugitiverecovery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14948		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Charlie Deckert [ Thu 02 May 2013 18:00 ]
Post subject:  Why do we do this work?
So I was sitting here reading threads, blogs etc. when the thought came to mind.

"Why do I do this work?"

Before I can answer that I have say the inspiration for this rant was a comment made all to often by people in our industry that honestly makes me think twice about why some people do this work.

I hear all the time the comment " Got another one off the streets" or " We get criminals off the streets" or comments similar to those. Even news segments like one I was this week the reporter said something like tracking down criminals and cleaning up the streets. I just don't think that is a fair or accurate description of what our purpose truly is, though it may be a byproduct of our profession it certainly should not be our motivation. I know I might offend some people here so let me just say this is how I feel and operate and that though I don't agree that our position in the Bail System is one of "Cleaning up the streets" I know many people feel that their purpose is just that.

I am not a police officer, I am not a lawyer, I am not a judge. I do not judge anyone regarding the reason they were arrested and I happen to be coming for them. It is our company policy that we operate this way. That's not to say we do not prepare all our apprehensions with the appropriate security but our motivation is never "We are cleaning up the streets. We operate as a service driving vendor. Our customers have a need to get someone in custody and we offer this service in exchange for compensation, nothing more.

I think it hurts our reputation and profession to tout ourselves as "Crime Fighters" the reality is most people we go after have not been convicted of the crime they are charged with for the hearing they missed. They are certainly guilty of not going to court but that alone is not a reason to prejudge the defendants guilt or innocence.

So we are proud to say we are very good at catching our jumpers, but we stop just short of taking credit for "cleaning up the streets" we prefer to leave that to the law enforcement professionals we have the privilege of meeting on the streets while we are in pursuit.

Why do I do this work, simple....I Love the chase, playing the game and solving the problems. I enjoy the challenge and every single capture or solved case is satisfying even if I don't get paid for it sometimes.
Author:  KARMA [ Thu 02 May 2013 18:49 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why do we do this work?
Charlie, it is real simple for me.

As a APLBB I chase my own and help with others when needed.
I do it so that I do not have to pay the Bond. I do not like chasing people down, I do not like making someone be responsible when they should take that upon themselves . . . and I do not like missing time with my dogs (now that I have no kids at home). The best friends I have in the World.

I have been writing Bail since 09/11/2000 I have paid out less than 2000 $ in Bail Forfeitures. According to my Boss (owner of the Company) my FTA Rate is 1/100th of a % and my Recovery Rate is 99.99 % (and is verifiable).

I truly think that the reason for that is . . . I TALK ALOT ! It takes me almost an hour to write a Bond . . . by the time that I am done I know who your cousins cousins best friend is and who you got your dog from ;)

I inform them what will happen should they FTA . . . I do not send someone . . . I come for them myself. If I have to that and it is a distance . . . I stay awake . . . they stay awake. I TALK ALOT :mrgreen:

A guy that used to work with the Company once said to me "You are like the every ready F'ing Bunny, you never shut the F up "
I think that may be the secret . . . Actually . . . it's because I get so much info they have no where to go :lol:

Besides it frustrates the crap out of me when I have to put down something that I am doing that I enjoy . . . to go look for someones sad ass, and, I tell them that right off the bat.
Author:  ChuckJ [ Thu 02 May 2013 22:12 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why do we do this work?
For me it's first and foremost a business transaction. I utilize my skill set in exchange for compensation. Yes, I do (for the most part) enjoy fugitive investigations, but I wouldn't do it for free. There is of course the byproduct of helping the wheels of justice turn by returning a skip to custody.

For anyone that thinks commercial bail bonding is somehow a bad thing there is compelling evidence to the contrary. A case I closed the other day is another example of that. A skip from another state was in my area, but initially the jurisdiction where his charges were pending would not extradite. The bail bond company signed paperwork agreeing to reimburse the county for extradition and the Sheriff's Office then agreed to extradite and updated NCIC accordingly. We picked him up and surrendered him to the local PD. He's now in custody and in the process of being extradited back to face his charges. The victim, his baby's mother who he decided to use as a punching bag is very happy that he's going to answer for it. So, justice is being served because of commercial bail bonding. If he had been released on a pre trial program etc.. he would have avoided answering the charges as long as he stayed out of state.
Author:  DSI [ Fri 03 May 2013 08:16 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why do we do this work?
I only do this type of work so that I can meet fast full-bodied women, drive fast cars, and drink beer... :lol:
Author:  KARMA [ Fri 03 May 2013 08:21 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why do we do this work?
DSI wrote:
I only do this type of work so that I can meet women, drive fast cars, and drink beer... :lol:



and the next time you are in my neck of the woods you need to call me so we . . .(you) can have some grits and biscuits and I will have just have biscuits and gravy :)
Author:  DSI [ Fri 03 May 2013 08:34 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why do we do this work?
KARMA wrote:
DSI wrote:
I only do this type of work so that I can meet women, drive fast cars, and drink beer... :lol:



and the next time you are in my neck of the woods you need to call me so we . . .(you) can have some grits and biscuits and I will have just have biscuits and gravy :)


ROTF-LMAO... :lol: :lol: :lol: , I sure will when we get down around the Jackson/Little Rock area... :wink:
Author:  KARMA [ Fri 03 May 2013 08:41 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why do we do this work?
I am 45 mins from Jacksonville . . . Speed limit here is 70 on the 4 lanes and I do every bit of it and some . . . when "In County" everyone knows my plates ;)
Author:  tsuggs [ Fri 03 May 2013 10:28 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why do we do this work?
My in laws had several businesses. They all were motivated by the idea of making good money.

Some did, most did not.

Bail was another idea they thought that they could make decent money. No inventory, low over head and what they thought was a profession that would never be eliminated.

So, I got into it only because of me mother in laws' cancer. Otherwise I would probably still be working in show biz. Making a 5 almost 6 figure income fixing electronic equipment.

After 13+ years, I enjoy the bail bonding side a lot. The rare occasional skip gives me another reason to get out of the office. However, getting to travel on business and meet so many crazy professionals in this business is the biggest enjoyment I get.

I also enjoy teaching the bail ed classes for the CBAA. Keeps me up on the CA laws and trying to find new ways to teach what is really some times boring insurance and penal codes.

Now for those of you that I have not had the pleasure of meeting in person yet, I dress in suit and tie every day. I also drive a P71 CV that looks like a undercover cop car. Because it is one.

Now I will say the biggest advantage of driving the CV is I don't get parking tickets and the few times I went over the speed limit and passed a radar cop, they did not pull me over.

As far as cleaning up the streets, most of the people I bail out are guilty of the charges they were arrested for. I know because I ask them and they are usually totally honest about what they did.

So, if I was doing this to help clean up the streets, I would have to leave them all in jail. But then someone else would bail them out anyway.

When it comes to the skips, it is strictly a business decision. Find the skip or pay off the bond.
Author:  B Williams [ Sat 04 May 2013 06:22 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why do we do this work?
Clean up the streets? My sole purpose in recovery work is to add to my other revenue bases. I do enjoy recovery work and stay fairly busy, but if I had to rely soley on recoveries to support my family, we wouldn't be able to do the things we enjoy. I also own a Bonding Agency as well as acouple more things and my wife is self employed as well...It is kinda nice however, to look back after the apprehension and sometimes see that the apprehension might have prevented more violence for someone else and their family. I'm talking about gang bangers and violent crimes that the defendant has skipped on. Most of the time, the skip made some bad choices and has to be tracked down with little or no fan fare....Just my take on the subject.

Take care
Author:  Mdbtyhtr [ Sat 04 May 2013 08:45 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why do we do this work?
I enjoy putting the puzzle together, to outwit my opponent, think outside of the box, and to get paid for doing so is just a bonus.

So in the proper context of the original post, there are unintended benefits just as there are unintended consequences.

Scott
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