Becoming a Bail Fugitive Recovery Person
On September 16, 1999, Governor Davis signed
AB 243
(Wildman) into law, effective
January 1, 2000. For a
complete copy of
AB 243, click on Bail Fugitive
Recovery
Person on the CBAA home page.
The basic provisions of AB 243 are:
After January 1, 2000, in order to apprehend,
detain,
arrest or
surrender bail fugitives, one
must meet the following qualifications:
A. Must be authorized by the bail or depositor of bail to apprehend a bail fugitive
- AND -
B. Must hold one of the following:
California bail license* (see “Exceptions” outlined below)
Bail license from another state
California private investigator license
Private Investigator license from another state
- OR -
C. Must be a Bail Fugitive Recovery Person, pursuant to Penal Code Section 1299.04:
- Must be at least 18 years of age
- Must have completed a 40-hour power of arrest course pursuant to Penal Code Section 832 (offered at most California community colleges). Contact your local community college to obtain course information.
- Must have completed a 12-hour pre-licensing bail education course pursuant to Insurance Code Section 1810.7. CBAA offers this course every two months, alternating between northern and southern California. For the schedule of classes, please see Becoming a Bail Agent.
- Must have completed a eight-hour security guard course in the exercise of the power of arrest pursuant to Business & Professions Code Section 7583.7.
- Must not have been convicted of a felony
- If carrying weapons a Bail Licensee or Bail Fugitive Recovery Person must comply with all state and local laws and it is recommended that you take the 24-hour P.C. 832 Firearms course.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Completion of the P.C. 832 firearms course does not entitle a person to carry a firearm. Referece P.C. 12031 (k) for more informaiton on firearm compliance requirements.
A Bail Fugitive Recovery Person must, at all times in the course of performing his/her duties under this article, carry certificates of completion for each of the courses listed above.
*Exceptions for California Bail Licensees:
Penal Code Section 1299.04 states:
(a) A bail fugitive recovery person, a bail agent, bail permittee, or bail solicitor who contracts his or her services to another bail agent or surety as a bail fugitive recovery person for the purposes specified in subdivision (d) of Section 1299.01, and any bail agent, bail permittee, or bail solicitor who obtains licensing after January 1, 2000, and who engages in the arrest of a defendant pursuant to Section 1301 shall comply with the requirements outlined in 1-5 above. (effective 1/1/2000)
Therefore, in order to apprehend, detain, arrest or surrender any defendant, a person obtaining a bail license on or after January 1, 2000 must meet the qualifications outlined in 1-6 above.
However, if a person was a California bail licensee prior to January 1, 2000, s/he may apprehend, detain, arrest or surrender defendants who have been bailed out by the licensee him/herself or the licensee’s employer. If you are not an employee (but an independent contractor), you are then contracting out your services and must comply with the requirements outlined in 1-6 above.
After January 1, 2000, any bail licensee who apprehends, detains, arrests or surrenders defendants who have been bailed out by someone other than the licensee him/herself or the licensee’s employer must meet the qualifications outlined in 1-6 above. As a bail licensee who contracts services to another bail agent or surety, you must comply with the qualifications outlined in 1-5 above.
A bail licensee who does not apprehend, detain, arrest or surrender defendants is not required to meet the qualifications outlined in 1-6 above.
In addition, any bail licensee or bail fugitive recovery person operating in the State of California, must comply with all of the following general provisions:
1299.06. Authority to Apprehend
Before apprehending a bail fugitive, an individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall have in his or her possession proper documentation of authority to apprehend issued by the bail or depositor of bail as prescribed in Sections 1300 and 1301. The authority to apprehend document shall include all of the following information: the name of the individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive and any fictitious name, if applicable; the address of the principal office of the individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive; and the name and principal business address of the bail agency, surety company, or other party contracting with the individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive.
1299.07. Representation
-
An individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall not wear any uniform that represents himself or herself as belonging to any part or department of a federal, state, or local government. Any uniform shall not display the words United States, Bureau, Task Force, Federal, or other substantially similar words that a reasonable person may mistake for a government agency.
-
An individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall not wear or otherwise use a badge that represents himself or herself as belonging to any part or department of the federal, state, or local government.
1299.08. Notification
-
Except under exigent circumstances, an individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall, prior to and no more than six hours before attempting to apprehend the bail fugitive, notify the local police department or sheriff's department of the intent to apprehend a bail fugitive in that jurisdiction by:
(1) Indicating the name of an individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive entering the jurisdiction.
(2) Stating the approximate time an individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive will be entering the jurisdiction and the approximate length of the stay.
(3) Stating the name and approximate location of the bail fugitive.
- If an exigent circumstance does arise and prior notification is not given as provided in subdivision (a), an individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall notify the local police department or sheriff's department immediately after the apprehension, and upon request of the local jurisdiction, shall submit a detailed explanation of those exigent circumstances within three working days after the apprehension is made.
- This section shall not preclude an individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive from making or attempting to make a lawful arrest of a bail fugitive on bond pursuant to Section 1300 or 1301. The fact that a bench warrant is not located or entered into a warrant depository or system shall not affect a lawful arrest of the bail fugitive.
- For the purposes of this section, notice may be provided to a local law enforcement agency by telephone prior to the arrest or, after the arrest has taken place, if exigent circumstances exist. In that case the name or operator number of the employee receiving the notice information shall be obtained and retained by the bail, depositor of bail, or bail fugitive recovery person.
1299.09. Entering Premises
- An individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall not forcibly enter a premises except as provided for in Section 844.
- Nothing in subdivision (a) shall be deemed to authorize an individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive to apprehend, detain, or arrest any person except as otherwise authorized pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 833) of Title 3 of Part 2, or any other provision of law.
1299.10. Firearms
An individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall not carry a firearm or other weapon unless in compliance with the laws of the state.
1299.11. Violations
Any person who violates this act, or who conspires with another person to violate this act, or who hires an individual to apprehend a bail fugitive, knowing that the individual is not authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by both that imprisonment and fine.
1299.12. Sunset
This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2005, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2005, deletes or extends that date.
1299.13. No Exemptions
Nothing in this article is intended to exempt from licensure persons otherwise required to be licensed as private investigators pursuant to Chapter 11.3 (commencing with Section 7512) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.
PLEASE NOTE:
- Existing rights of current bail licensees to apprehend their own defendants and basic rights to surrender bail fugitives are not affected by this bill. A member of the Legislative Unit of the Attorney General's Office, has said that all existing rights of current bail licensees to apprehend and surrender their own fugitives remains the same if this bill becomes law. Assemblymember Wildman, the author of this bill, assured us there was never any intent to change the existing surrender powers of bail agents in statute or case law. Remember, when a bail arrest takes place, the arresting agent is not apprehending the defendant on the underlying case (domestic violence, theft, murder, rape, drunk driving, traffic tickets, etc.), but as a result of the defendant’s “escaping” the bail agent’s “custody.”Thus, all bail arrests are felony arrests under statute (P.C. 1301) and case law (Taylor vs. Taintor, affirmed by People v. Walling [1962] in California).
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