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Message no. 1
From: ArcLight <arclight@**************.COM>
Subject: Agents
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 10:50:25 +0100
I know that Bounty Hunters are quite legal in the US.
Can somebody tell me some details about them?
What is the their status within juristdiction?
What would their status in 20?? be?
How would LoneStar behave towards them?

ArcLight
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
ICQ 14322211
Message no. 2
From: Mike Bobroff <Airwasp@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Agents
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 09:10:05 EST
In a message dated 1/17/1999 4:52:04 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
arclight@**************.COM writes:

> I know that Bounty Hunters are quite legal in the US.
> Can somebody tell me some details about them?

Sure, the one thing about Bounty Hunters is that they need to be registered in
some state that allows Bounty Hunters to exist, and then once they get
registered they can go ahead and get a license to do what they need to do.

In most cases, Bounty Hunters go after people that they are told to go after,
and not just anyone they want to. In some cases, they are either working for
the local law enforcement or for a bail bond agency (this is usually called a
Skip-Trace, IIRC).

> What is the their status within juristdiction?

Bounty Hunters walk a fine line, as they are technically not police officers,
hence they have no real true authority in terms of law enforcement. However,
when it comes to the person they are hunting after, if they have in their
possession an arrest warrant or other proof that this is the person they are
after, then they can "politely ask" for assistance from a local law
enforcement when it comes to them "aquiring" their target.

There is the potential for massive amounts of abuse. In the instance of
someone becoming a Bounty Hunter and not knowing what they are doing can cause
all sorts of damage to the rep of -ALL- Bounty Hunters. A case in point being
a pair of newbie Hunters in Arizona last year, thought they had the suspect in
a certain home, went in shooting and cause the death of 2 people that were not
even their suspects. From my understanding this is leading to tighter
regulations on Bounty Hunters in Arizona, but I do not know how this is
affecting anyone else.

> What would their status in 20?? be?

Bounty Hunters would exist in two different categories. The first being the
legally registered types, that work for bail bond agencies and perhaps even
security firms that offer this sort of service to others ("Hey, you let us get
the guy for you, this way you can concentrate on your own business
workings.").

The second type exists within the Shadows. This is the BH that goes after
runners and other people that are too big in their britches to be handled by a
normal BH. This type picks and chooses the suspects he goes after, calling
himself his/her own boss, although they may choose to have a contact (A BH
Boss of sorts or a Fixer) that helps to keep these types of BHs from getting
into each other's way, and occassionally BHs will work together to bring
someone down, but that again depends on the type of suspect involved.

> How would LoneStar behave towards them?

LoneStar would probably treat them professionally, although the people in
LoneStar would consider the BHs to be one life form above a Vigilante, unless
the BH has a reputation for professionalism that takes time to build.

-Herc
Message no. 3
From: "Hatchetman, GUV" <hatchet@*********.BC.CA>
Subject: Re: Agents
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 15:49:54 -0800
> Sure, the one thing about Bounty Hunters is that they need to be
registered in
> some state that allows Bounty Hunters to exist, and then once they get
> registered they can go ahead and get a license to do what they need to
do.

They also MUST have their guns registered legally, so if you want them to
moonlight as runners too, you'd best have more than one gun. The government
keeps a close eye on the weaponry any BH uses. They _can_ in some states,
get legally registered subguns, supressors, and automatic rifles. Check
your local library for which states are pro-gun. Most of the south-western
states are. Ohio, Illinois, Arkansas, lots of states are still quite easy.
Not FDC or Maryland, not a chance.

> Bounty Hunters walk a fine line, as they are technically not police
officers,
> hence they have no real true authority in terms of law enforcement.
However,
> when it comes to the person they are hunting after, if they have in their
> possession an arrest warrant or other proof that this is the person they
are
> after, then they can "politely ask" for assistance from a local law
> enforcement when it comes to them "aquiring" their target.

Cops love that. Especially if it's someone they've wanted to bust for a
while, but couldn't get grounds. Some cops really like hunters. Not in
canada though. I gotta move to Utah.
Uh, that's all I could think of you didn't mention Herc, and I was just
nitpicking. ^_^

Hatchetman, GUV.
Message no. 4
From: Oliver McDonald <oliver@****.SPYDERNET.COM>
Subject: Re: Agents
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 16:11:47 -0800
On Sun, 17 Jan 1999 15:49:54 -0800, Hatchetman, GUV wrote:

>Cops love that. Especially if it's someone they've wanted to bust for a
>while, but couldn't get grounds. Some cops really like hunters. Not in
>canada though. I gotta move to Utah.
>Uh, that's all I could think of you didn't mention Herc, and I was just
>nitpicking. ^_^


It is unlawful for a Bounty Hunter to operate in Canada. There is one who is serving 25
years in Canada for practicing his trade in our country. The convictions were IIRC
unlawful confinement, assault, kidnapping, disturbing the peace, and some possession of
unlicensed firearms.
Message no. 5
From: Jett <zmjett@*********.COM>
Subject: Re: Agents
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 22:56:56 -0500
Oliver McDonald wrote:

> On Sun, 17 Jan 1999 15:49:54 -0800, Hatchetman, GUV wrote:
>
> >Cops love that. Especially if it's someone they've wanted to bust for a
> >while, but couldn't get grounds. Some cops really like hunters. Not in
> >canada though. I gotta move to Utah.
> >Uh, that's all I could think of you didn't mention Herc, and I was just
> >nitpicking. ^_^
>
> It is unlawful for a Bounty Hunter to operate in Canada. There is one who is serving
25
> years in Canada for practicing his trade in our country. The convictions were IIRC
> unlawful confinement, assault, kidnapping, disturbing the peace, and some possession
of
> unlicensed firearms.

Cops generally do not like hunters who horn in on their territories, as well.


--Jett

<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>


"I'll make this clear, that I'm just here for backup. And to offer the occasional
advice or
insult."
--Jett, on being an NPC

Behold the mighty sonic scream of the Jett!

http://www.scifi-fantasy.com/~zmjett/shadow.htm
Message no. 6
From: Jett <zmjett@*********.COM>
Subject: Re: Agents
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 23:17:29 -0500
Mike Bobroff wrote:

>
>
> > What would their status in 20?? be?
>
> Bounty Hunters would exist in two different categories. The first being the
> legally registered types, that work for bail bond agencies and perhaps even
> security firms that offer this sort of service to others ("Hey, you let us get
> the guy for you, this way you can concentrate on your own business
> workings.").
>

<snip> I'd like to add a third type of bounty hunter.

Critter Hunters like Jett that work either freelance or for an agency (Jett is
freelance, and occasionally works with Lone Star, corps, assorted agencies etc).
While Jett does occasionally snag bail-jumpers, more often she gets sent after
rogue vampires, shapeshifters, and other critters that tend to eat the loyal
citizens of Seattle. Phys ads, mages, heavily modified street sams, etc are likely
to get this kind of work often simply because they're better than the average cop
and generally, more expendable.
Also, I'd think that being a registered bounty hunter also entitles you access
to some security-level cyberware. Not the heavy duty stuff, but at least a couple
little goodies you couldn't get legally otherwise. For example, I would think
crossbows would be available to licensed and established paracritter hunters (Jett
owns a fully registered and legal heavy crossbow for hunting purposes, for
example, and I haven't had a GM argue with me about it yet.) Yes, I know
registered equipment can be a down side, which is why any of my bounty hunter
characters (I have two) have a stash of non-registered toys as well. :>

--Jett

<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>


"I'll make this clear, that I'm just here for backup. And to offer the occasional
advice or insult."
--Jett, on being an NPC

Behold the mighty sonic scream of the Jett!

http://www.scifi-fantasy.com/~zmjett/shadow.htm
Message no. 7
From: Wyrmy <elfman@******.COM>
Subject: Re: Agents
Date: Mon, 18 Jan 1999 00:15:43 -0600
Jett wrote:
>
> Mike Bobroff wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > > What would their status in 20?? be?
> >
> > Bounty Hunters would exist in two different categories. The first being the
> > legally registered types, that work for bail bond agencies and perhaps even
> > security firms that offer this sort of service to others ("Hey, you let us
get
> > the guy for you, this way you can concentrate on your own business
> > workings.").
> >
>
> <snip> I'd like to add a third type of bounty hunter.

<Snippage>I'd like to add a fourth bounty hunter.

A hunter that hunts SPECIFICALY bad free spirits spirits, mages (toxic,
otherwise) and shamans(insect,toxic).I had one of these, but a coven of
toxic mages got a damn blood sample, and cast some spell the gm cooked
up that warped his frame(body) as slowly and painfully as possible. He
was woking with another hunter,a mage, who made him anchorings so that
he might have a chance against the nasties(silver and orichalcum cyber
spurs are not easy to get, and I had them only on one hand). well
any-ways he was licensed, and he forgot rule number two(dont leave
anything that can be used as a ritual sample), but surprisingly
remembered rule number 1(get the bad guy you damn slot!).Well he's dead
now, and that coven now controls a "country" that has the ability to
launch chemical weapons. what a mess that Gm made for himself. He
expected me to role a success on that spell succes test and survive.
When I didnt, he had to do the "Gameover sequence".Oh and, the toxics
did lauch the missles, and the entire world became zombies, ala Night of
the Living Dead.(if you couldt tell, this gm sticks to the plot no
matter what, and we just didnt get to finish it as the heroes.He also
wont fudge dice rolls, the Damn bastard!)
--
-W in the light
----------------------------------------------------------
Wyrmy: Wyrm druid, Scholar, Pokemon trainer extroidenaire.
Famous Quote: "Pikachu? What Pikachu?" BZRAK "Oh,(cough), THAT
Pikachu!"
Message no. 8
From: "Hatchetman, GUV" <hatchet@*********.BC.CA>
Subject: Re: Agents
Date: Mon, 18 Jan 1999 11:58:24 -0800
> It is unlawful for a Bounty Hunter to operate in Canada. There is one who
is serving 25
> years in Canada for practicing his trade in our country. The convictions
were IIRC
> unlawful confinement, assault, kidnapping, disturbing the peace, and some
possession of
> unlicensed firearms.

Well, of course. Canada is very different, the RCMP are Canada-wide, and
very unified. Not really any such thing as running to a different province,
unless you want to hide out in some small town like Likely, BC, population;
47. We also have incredibly strict firearms laws (which even contain
clauses for non-firearms, as I found out.). This is why a criminal is well
advised to run from the US into Canada or Mexico, of course, in 2060, there
is no Canada any more, which kind of makes this all academic.

Further Reading

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These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!