Reality television and popular motion pictures have made the bounty hunting profession appear to be much more glamorous than it truly is. That isn’t to say that maintaining a career in bounty hunting isn’t an exciting and rewarding prospect, but there are certain elements of the job that are extremely dangerous and can even be life threatening.
The day-to-day life of a bounty hunter involves searching for, capturing, and transporting fugitives who have skipped bail or fled from law enforcement. Bounty hunters must use certain tactics to carry out their jobs that can often put them in harm’s way or cause them to break the law. Sometimes they are even faced with death.
Putting their lives at risk is something that bounty hunters face nearly every day. But even aside from the life-threatening elements of their job, there is always the risk of serious physical injury. Fugitive recovery involves tracking down criminals who can often be extremely dangerous or unpredictable. These individuals will often do whatever it takes to avoid being captured and forced to return to prison, so they are often armed and prepared to take the life of anyone who gets in the way of their freedom. For example, in April 2013 two bounty hunters in Phoenix were killed in the line of duty.
For this reason, bounty hunters need to be prepared physically and psychologically to face criminals who are likely willing to engage in hand to hand combat or even use firearms in order to protect their ill-gotten freedom.
To do so, bounty hunters need proper equipment and training. They generally wear clothing that makes them inconspicuous so that they blend into a crowd and are not easily detected. Additionally, however, many bounty hunters wear bullet-proof vests and take hand-to-hand or martial arts training. They also find training in criminal psychology, investigation, and surveillance strategies to be helpful in performing their job safely and protecting themselves and others.