Working with LEO.. what suggestions do you folks have?

When you folks out there have contact with LE how do you go about? Ex: LEO comes to assist you, what should you say, show (ID, CCW)... ? I have found LE in my area to be very bold, arrogant. (Most likely cuz other BEAs ruined the relationship for some) What is the first thing you say or do on contact with LE. How have you folks strengthened your own relations with LE? For example: You need some info on a skip and want to ask LE for some cooperative info? When I approach or even call LE for any reason I let the officer on the other end know that myself and my team are CCW permit holders (being upfront0 but even then I have gotten some hostile response for EVEN being in the area doing my job. Once when LE offered to transport a skip, I asked for a body receipt and the LEO didnt even know what I was talking about.(Is their another word/phrase for it? lol) So overall what advice do you guys offer about going about relating to LE and making both parties comfortable with each other. Thanks for the help everyone

_________________
Bryan Wheeler
'WHEELZ" Fugitive Recovery
Bail Enforcement Agent
Montrose/Monument/Denver Colorado
COIBE CERT # 2009-1030
970-417-9482

another quick ?-- I was having a discussion with a fella about what one does if they carry a CCW, and are bringing the skip into the jail. I told him I take the gun off and store it in a vault lock in the car. He then said I was weird for doing so and that he either brings his gun in with him or drops it into a gun safe that is usually out side the door and takes the key so he can retrieve it latter. What is your guys' though on that as well?

_________________
Bryan Wheeler
'WHEELZ" Fugitive Recovery
Bail Enforcement Agent
Montrose/Monument/Denver Colorado
COIBE CERT # 2009-1030
970-417-9482

A million scenarios could be discussed about this very subject, so let me take a crack at an answer to most of them.

Start with: Conduct yourself as a professional and be confident in the job you are doing. Not to be confused with arrogance.

This means being knowledgeable about the local laws, statutes and customs. Your supposed to be the expert at what you do and should be able to articulate what you do to others. LEO's are trained to be skeptics and can sense a lack of confidence. If you have no LE experience yourself, then learn about them. Learn to speak to them as they speak to one another. It helps.

For example: If you called for assistance and said "Hey I need help with a bail recovery, send the police" you will get a very specific response.

However if you call for assistance and said "This is (name), I am a licensed (x), I am located at (x), I am requesting assistance from Patrol in reference to an active Bail warrant." You will get another response.

The body receipt is a great example of this. You could just have the form with you and offer to go over it when them. Again, find out the terms they use or the legal name of the form.

Be matter of fact, Thank officer, let me grab the "Body Receipt Form" for you before you go. Body Receipt? Yep, right here, it is required by statute x.xx when giving MY prisoner into your custody.

Identification, it helps when I am doing an investigation to have my investigators license and a professional business card in a single fold folio that I can open and display when the officer arrives. Actually one side is my Investigators license and the other is my CCW, with the business card in the middle that I hand to them as I display my "creditials".

Then, I thank them for coming out and clearly state why I called and exactly what I need from them. To your point about CCW, I only tell them if they ask if I am armed ... and have. The response is "Yes sir, my credentials are right here and my weapon is located (x). Notice I didn't say "I have a gun and ...". Again, you get an entirely different response based on your answer.

Police are trained to give and expect a certain response from other professionals and even if they are jaded about BEA based on experience or hearsay. They will respect, be more helpful or less intrusive to someone that conducts themselves properly.

To the Gun to a Jail. Call them and ask for their policy. It would be crazy to show up at a jail and be invited to stay for violating the law or their policy.

Jeff, that was a top notch post. I agree with all you say and place a 'second' on every point.
Professional and self confident without arrogance. Positive and informative without adding too much info.
I cannot think of anything that you have not covered... as you said... but you have covered most very well.

_________________
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"

Thank you!

Jeff,
What Mr. Marx (respecting my elders here) said to the "T"!

Very well said. I would only add to curb ones tongue, some officers would be put off by the knowledge we
possess and feel intimidated. I have witnessed communications that were going very well, go immediately south because
somebody got over confident and said to much. There is an old adage for salesman, know when you have made the sale and don't
talk your customer out of 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)

I have experienced that, myself. Had an occasion to start off with me being thrown over the hood of a PC, then turn much more pleasant, and then turn back to cuffed sitting the the back of a car. It started with a 911 call from the SIQ claiming that "an out of control, armed, white male is chasing a young, unarmed, black male through an apartment complex......which got me thrown over the car. After explaining who I was, what I was doing, and providing documentation for all that I claimed, things calmed down. Then the partner that I had at the time appeared "from his hiding spot" and began quoting laws and dropping names. We then found ourselves sitting in the cage car waiting for confirmation of all creditials. Everything turned out fine (except after 30 minutes of being detained, our Subject was no where to be found) but I did have a long, in debth "training session" with that partner......lets just say, we haven't worked together in quite some time. I go to jail for no one but myself and those I share a blood line with.....and even that has limitations.

_________________
********************
Thomas SnoWolf
FRN# 1999
GAPB 20120726
NSIS ST0707
http://www.rocksolidrg.com
"The hero is not the man that acts without fear,
He is the man that acts inspite of fear"

Very well said and illustrated Jeff. I totally agree with you, Bill, and Scott on this subject. I would also add that while the BEA should be well versed in the local laws and customs he should always remember to be low impact even in his dealings with LEO’s.

_________________
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

Well, here's a short story of one of my experiences with LEO...

I was sitting on an apartment watching for a skip (alone; I know but I didn't have time to get a backup)... the guy comes out of the apartment gets in his car and drives to the 7/11... I follow at a distance, park and follow him in... he goes up to the counter and ask to buy cigarettes... I come up behind him... push him forward onto the counter, pulled his right arm behind his back and cuff him while holding him down with my weight... as I am in the process of getting his other arm behind him... two Richmond City Cops walk up behind me and do the same thing to me... only I had a .357 in my belt on my back and when they shoved me down it appeared!! They took us both outside and set one on one side of their car and me on the other down on the curb... and started questioning us both... they informed me that it is illegal to carry concealed inside the city limits and besides 7/11 sells alcohol and that also is a no no... ddduuuuhhhh.... ghee, I sure did like that little SP101 hammerless Ruger.... and now I'm gonna lose it.... well, I said nothing.... nothing.... they said it again and all I could do was tell them I had 2 CC permits (State and DCJS) and absolutely was not aware of that law... I was apprehending a fugitive that I had a warrant for and was simply going to transport him to Riverside... they looked at my Bondman license, my CC permits and bail piece and walked away talking quietly... they came back, took the cuffs off me.... handed me my little Ruger, unloaded, told me they were gonna cut me loose if I would take the SIQ to Riverside for them.... (had they taken me in they would have had to transport the other to Riverside)... I said certainly... quietly got in my car with my skip... and left....

Now, I did not get into any kind of a debate or go into a lengthy explanation of my actions... I did not tell them that they were mistaken about Richmond law... I did not tell them that the ABC license that 7/11 holds is for "off" only which doesn't apply to the restriction they mentioned.... I just handed them my credentials and let them work it out. In fact, I personally think your better off not talking at all unless you are ask a direct question.... cause they were trying to figure it out and I did not want to interfere or confuse them... so I just shut up. I remained calm, did not try to spend a lot of energy explaining myself... I just ask if I could reach in my pocket for my credentials which I handed to them and then sat back and let them work it out. I think I did appear confident and sure of my position and I think that contributed to the results also....

I might mention that I do not have many skips... and for the most part I do the pickups myself... and I must tell you I am very low key... unless they are bad boys or are out of state... or of course if they are difficult to locate then I call the professionals..... you guys.

_________________
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"

There is a sign on the front of a Judge's bench in Las Vegas, with out mentioning names, the judge is originally from NY, it says "The truth is spoken in few words" and it speaks volumes.

Bill, I have been in that position before, accosted is the proper term, by 7 of Prince George's County, MD's finest, questioning my authority to apprehend anyone. I only answered direct questions to this "Audience" and when they were satisfied, one of them pulled out his old bail enforcement credentials, admitted that he was a bail enforcement agent before becoming a cop and stated "He knows his Sh*t, leave him be." I was careful to answer only direct questions, not pontificate and say the least possible that answered their questions. I was upset, but hid that fact to the best of my abilities. They were more worried about charging me with something then identifying the wanted fugitive, which they "Allowed" me to take to the jail without ever verifying even his name.

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)