Missouri Laws 374.788 – Apprehension standards for breach of surety agreement or absconding
1. A bail bond agent having probable grounds to believe a subject free on his or her bond has failed to appear as directed by a court, has breached the terms of the subject’s surety agreement, or has taken a substantial step toward absconding may utilize all lawful means to apprehend the subject. To surrender a subject to a court, a licensed bail bond or surety recovery agent having probable grounds to believe the subject is free on his or her bond may:
(1) Detain the subject in a lawful manner, for a reasonable time, provided that in the event travel from another state is involved, the detention period may include reasonable travel time not to exceed seventy-two hours;
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 374.788
- Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- person: as used in this chapter shall include any individual, partnership, corporation, association or trust, or any other legal entity. See Missouri Laws 374.046
- Property: includes real and personal property. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020
(2) Transport a subject in a lawful manner from state to state and county to county to a place of authorized surrender; and
(3) Enter upon private or public property in a lawful manner to execute apprehension of a subject.
2. A surety recovery agent who apprehends a subject pursuant to the provisions of subsection 1 of this section shall surrender custody of the subject to the court of jurisdiction.
3. When a surety recovery agent is in the process of performing fugitive recovery, a photographic identification card shall be prominently displayed on his or her person.