Jail or bail: Montana still very much the wild west – Daily Montanan

Montana’s wild West is alive and properly as a rogue subset of bounty hunters committing crimes and abuses towards defendants on bail, their households and the general public.

State legislation provides bondsmen unrestrained arrest powers main some to make use of harmful ways that threaten public security and infringe on defendants’ rights.

There’s a clear want for Montana to create sideboards, guidelines and arrest reporting requirements to make sure transparency and set up minimal {qualifications} for people working as fugitive restoration brokers (bounty hunters) in our state.

The rising abuses and prison fees towards bondsmen culminated in each public outrage and requires reform by our company following a taking pictures final 12 months in Butte. On this case, a bondsman, aided by a convicted felon, allegedly broke into a house unannounced in search of to arrest a defendant out on bond. Following an altercation, the house owner ─ a 3rd celebration ─ was fatally shot. The bondsman, in addition to the person accompanying, have been charged with deliberate murder and aggravated housebreaking.

Though there are a lot of skilled bondsmen and restoration brokers appearing throughout the legislation, there’s rising concern of restoration brokers and bondsmen committing, generally very severe crimes.

A bail bond, or surety bond, is a type of insurance coverage. Bondsmen should be licensed as surety insurance coverage producers to write down bail bonds. Because the company charged with regulating insurance coverage in Montana, we’ve the obligation and authority to approve and revoke licenses, levy penalties for misconduct, and undertake guidelines. Following the taking pictures in Butte, we revoked the bondsman’s license to make sure he might not legally write or implement bonds.

The legal guidelines regulating bail bonds are much more complicated when contemplating the distinction between a bondsman and a fugitive restoration agent. Whereas one is usually synonymous with the opposite, the legislation doesn’t mandate licensure for restoration brokers as a result of they aren’t providing an insurance coverage product ─ their job is just to arrest defendants. For instance, the taking pictures in Butte allegedly concerned a convicted felon who was aiding the bondsman within the fugitive restoration operation. The felon was not a licensed surety insurance coverage producer as a result of he was solely appearing as a restoration agent.

This loophole is void of any authority for any Montana company to control the actions of unlicensed fugitive restoration brokers. This creates, in some circumstances, unclear authority over bondsmen recovering fugitives.

Bondsmen arguably have unilateral authority to revoke bail at any time and for any motive. Consequently, a defendant legally out on bond might be routinely arrested and imprisoned and not using a courtroom order, on the whim of the bondsmen. In different phrases, the bondsman doesn’t want any motive aside from discomfort to recuperate an individual out on bond. This unrestricted authority is the catalyst of many circumstances of abuse and crimes dedicated by bondsmen. Our company is investigating a number of situations of bondsmen providing fee or diminished bail prices to defendants in alternate for performing duties, reminiscent of helping in fugitive restoration operations. In some circumstances, bondsmen have gratuitously revoked a defendant’s bail, solely to once more bail them out of jail to implement extra charges on the identical defendant.

The overwhelming majority of bail bondsmen and restoration brokers in our state observe the legislation, respect defendants’ rights, and assist rules to corral unscrupulous actors who’s actions tarnish the business’s repute. I’ve at all times mentioned, “dangerous actors are dangerous for enterprise.” No person desires dangerous actors of their business. Nevertheless, abuses, crimes, and violence perpetrated by dangerous actors within the bail bonds business is not going to cease till the Legislature passes commonsense legal guidelines giving some sideboards and oversight on abuses being perpetrated by a handful of dangerous actors.

Within the 2023 Legislative Session, we’ll introduce a invoice to reform fugitive restoration. We shall be in search of two modifications to statute that we imagine will assist resolve lots of the issues in fugitive restoration in Montana:

• Require all restoration brokers to be licensed surety insurance coverage producers. By means of licensure, our company can implement minimal {qualifications}, coaching requirements and background checks. Bondsmen and restoration brokers abusing their authority could have their licenses revoked and lose their authority to write down bonds or arrest defendants. Obligatory licensing additionally ensures defendants can’t be paid or coerced into helping in fugitive restoration operations.
• Implement transparency reporting necessities. Earlier than arresting a defendant, bondsmen should notify native legislation enforcement and supply licensure info together with the defendant’s location. Bondsmen are additionally required to report all arrests to our company as a situation of licensure. Reporting will dissuade dangerous actors from participating in abusive behaviors with out unduly limiting bondsmen from defending their pursuits.

Fugitive restoration brokers have distinctive powers and authorities normally solely granted to extremely educated legislation enforcement professionals. Underneath the present legislation, this business has little oversight, {qualifications}, or primary coaching requirements required to function in Montana communities with broad arrest powers. The abuses from this small set of dangerous actors on this business are a transparent risk to the rights of Montanans. Within the subsequent legislative session, the Legislature ought to modernize our State’s legal guidelines to guard the rights of defendants and the general public from violence perpetrated by dangerous actors within the bail bond business.

Troy Downing is the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance coverage, Montana State Auditor. Commissioner Downing is a two-tour fight veteran, businessman, and entrepreneur.