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criminal or the criminal returns to New York. In most cases,
if the crime that a
person is suspected of is
relatively minor, or small, the police may not spend
the time and money to
chase the person. However, if
the person is wanted for a
serious or dangerous crime, the police may send out notices offering rewards to
whoever captures the suspect. This is where bounty hunters come in.
Is bounty hunting legal? The answer is both yes and no. In most states, it is
legal to go after people who have “
skipped bail.” Skipping
bail is when a person
commits a crime in a city or a state and then tries to run away to
another city or state before his or her court date. For many
situations in the US and Canada, if someone commits a minor
crime, he or she can pay some
money to the court and stay
out of jail until the court date; this money is called bail. If
the person goes to court on the
appointed date, then they get
the money back. If they miss the court appointment, then they
lose the money and must go to jail for a longer
time if they are caught
by the police or a bounty hunter.
Many states also allow bounty hunters who have special
licenses to go
after dangerous criminals called
felons, but some do not allow this at all.
Illinois, Kentucky, and Oregon have laws against bounty hunting, while
California only allows it up to 180 days after the skip flees. Interestingly enough,
in the states that allow bounty hunting, people are
allowed to break the law in
order to catch a fugitive.
Reading Time
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579 words
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relatively --- in comparison with others
29
chase --- to follow or run after to catch
33
skip --- a slang term for “run away”
39
appoint --- to set; to assign
43
license --- an official
document of permission
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felon --- a person guilty of committing a serious crime
