Bounty Hunters (#601)

Modern Day bounty hunters - and the controversy that still surrounds them - is the focus of the sixth season premiere of the six time Emmy Award winning Due Process. The program begins with a mini documentary by Senior Producer Sandra King, who followed one bounty hunting team through a typical day of tracking down bail jumpers - and bringing them in. The show focuses not only on the excitement of the chase, but also on the nature of the controversy. These days, bounty hunters work for private bail bond agents - going after the jumpers before the bonding agencies have to take cash to the courts. But, controlled only by an 1872 federal law, they function without the restraints of regular police. For them, there are no Miranda Warnings, no search warrants, no extradition waivers. The bounty hunters say that's what makes them so effective, but their law enforcement detractors say it's what makes them so dangerous. The dispute over bounty hunting - whether it should be outlawed and what the impact of that would be on the courts and prisons - will be the focus of host Raymond Brown's in-studio discussion, which will bring bounty hunters and the bail bond agents who employ them face to face with some law enforcement officials who want to see them put out of business.