The Reality Of Bail Bonds Television
Through the proliferation of reality television, tens of millions of people have become voyeurs to society's previously unfamiliar segments. The bail bonds industry, in particular, has been touched by this modern day phenomenon. A&E's smash hit, "Dog The Bounty Hunter", has made its protagonist, Duane "Dog" Chapman, a household name. The show put bail bonds and bounty hunting squarely in the collective living rooms, and conscience, of people around the world with its colorful characters and compelling story lines.
National Geographic's "Bounty Hunters" show, featuring the well known fugitive recovery agents Leonard Padilla and Robert Dick, has also raised the awareness of the bail bonds industry. But air time hasn't been limited to just those larger than life personalities and big name television franchises. A number of new bail bonds reality shows are preparing to hit the airwaves as well. The principal of Godfather's Las Vegas Bail Bonds is rumored to be filming a new show, while two former Marines are to be featured in a Utah based bounty hunter reality show called "Rock-n-Lock".
These new shows are on the heels of previously launched programs such as HBO's "Family Bonds", which chronicled a Long Island bail bond agency, and "Fuga Y Captura", which follows South Florida fugitive recovery agents.
As with most reality shows, those tied to bail bonds surely shape the viewers' perceptions of the industry itself. With so many preconceived notions and misconceptions of the bail bonds industry, are bail bond reality shows good for the business? Or do the sensationalized images do more harm than good? With so many extraneous pressures to the modern bail bonds business it is prudent to ask if reality television improves the general populace's view of an industry undergoing so much change and extraneous pressure.
In a society of people that would find it difficult to differentiate between a bail bond agent and a fugitive recovery agent, the slew of bail bonds reality shows has certainly raised the industry's overall profile. Most Americans can now at the least identify one bail bond agent (most likely Dog) and understand they play some sort of role in the criminal law process.
While most shows get traction from the excitement of fugitive recovery, that necessarily is predicated upon the notion that a bail bondsman's money is at stake when a bond is written. Astute viewers will connect the dots to recognize a bondsman's at risk capital means private enterprise has stepped up to manage a defendant's release rather than taxpayers footing the bill for housing defendants and/or tasking law enforcement with fugitive recovery. At a time when states can't adequately fund their own pension obligations, and the national debt is spiraling out of control, having the private sector pay for something otherwise paid for by taxpayers is a seemingly good thing.
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