"Justice deferred is justice denied."

Many people ask me what I like the most about being a bail enforcement agent.  I used to tell them that it was the money or the excitement or being able to tell others I was a bounty hunter and instantly become the center-ring attraction at any party.  But all of that changed for me and I cannot put my finger on exactly when those superficial reasons no longer were important to me. 

Yes, the money is very good in my business, I have great stories to tell about wild apprehensions and even wilder fugitives and I still get that surge of adrenaline when I open each new case file and think about how I am going to find and catch the next defendant.  Is he on the run or just missing?  Does he expect me?  Will he or she be violent or return with me willingly?  Who will I meet along the way? Etc., etc.

All of this is great and make no mistake about my passion for this business and the overall health of the bail recovery industry but I have learned to appreciate that what I do serves the greater interest of justice.  I have come to realize through a series of very personal experiences lately that when a fugitive fails to appear for his or her day in court there is often a victim who has to wait too.

"Justice deferred is justice denied."

The other day I received another issue of Fast Company, a business magazine; one article headline read “25 Entrepreneurs Who Are Changing the World” and I was moved.  I brought it home and pointed to the headline on the cover and said to my wife, “I want to change the world too.”  She told me that I was.  She explained that I was changing the world in my own way- for one victim, client, or fugitive at a time. 

I was reminded of an instance that happened a few years ago while I was chatting up a potential client at a jail in Georgetown, Texas.  We walked into a group of 5 inmates who were cleaning the intake area.  Each of them remembered me from my interaction with them during an apprehension and each acknowledged me warmly.  One told me how excited he was about getting out in a few days and one thanked me for how I treated him and his son.  I remember that day and how proud I was because there I was trying to land this particular client and how lucky could I have possibly been to have met 5 people, all of whom I had personally put back in jail, and all of whom had nothing bad to say?  Here were 5 of the greatest testimonials I could get to my effectiveness- it was like I hit the lottery.  Looking back on it now though, it really was 5 testimonials to the affect I had on each of them.

I think that is when this shift in my attitude started.

I received a letter this morning from a student-client garnered through my work in bail enforcement training explaining how excited he was that he just completed his first assignment last night and has gotten 5 new cases to work on and how it could not have happened had it not been for the training program I put together and the interest I showed in him personally.  He assured me that he simply would have never fulfilled his dream of becoming a bounty hunter. 

I think he is today where I was when I started years ago- more concerned about titles and money than the good he did by serving Lady Justice, but that’s not for me to explain to him.  He will come to this realization on his own if he keeps up the good work.

I get a lot of these bail enforcement training testimonials actually and each of them feels great!

And I think these letters are a part of what my wife was referring to as well; I had become a “force multiplier” in the criminal justice system and will cause the same effect on victims and defendants I have had as a recovery agent but on a much larger scale than I had ever realized.  With each new agent I train and motivate, I also create the possibility that he or she will go out and treat people with the respect and dignity they deserve, regardless of which side of the jail door they belong.  Defendants will have their day in court as planned and victims of their crimes have an opportunity to share in the benefit of the justice system as well.  Hopefully these new bail investigators will work to preserve the bail recovery industry and maintain their professionalism diligently.

This morning, for the first time I really feel actualized as a human being because I too, can claim that I am changing the world- albeit on a much smaller scale than the “social capitalists” featured in this month’s edition of Fast Company- but I still have work to do.

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[Scott MacLean]

You can count me as one of your disciples. You have earned your spot in the industry, and you wear a white hat!

-A Bounty Hunter in Maryland