A recent deadly shooting in Missoula involving four Billings bounty hunters is raising questions about what it takes to become a bondsman in Montana and what powers they have when it comes to law enforcement.
At Northwest Bail Bonds in Billings, Joel Graff and his wife, Beverly, work around the clock tracking down fugitives.
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"We bounty hunt any day of the week, actually," Beverly Graff said Thursday.
Bail bondsmen post bond, securing a defendant's release and a promise to appear in court.
"It's a promise to appear in court on behalf of the charity company that posted the bond for them," Joel Graff said.
That promise is the foundation of the bail bond industry. When a defendant fails to appear, bounty hunters are tasked with finding them — but within guidelines.
"We are a licensed bondsman, and we're licensed to carry firearms or weapons of non-lethal weapons to be able to protect ourselves," Joel Graff said.
Joel and Beverly Graff said they had no connection to the Missoula incident, but they want to make clear that bounty hunters are not police.
"We try to show command presence first versus having to use any of our tools that are on our belts or on our bulletproof vest," Joel Graff said.
This is not the first time Montana has seen scenes like this. In December of 2021, bounty hunter Jay Hubbard shot and killed William Harris after Harris skipped bond.
That case sparked change, leading to new laws tightening the powers of bounty hunters. Former Butte lawmaker Ryan Lynch led the effort.
"Really figured out that there was not a whole bunch of rules and regulations around this aspect. And so the goal is really to bring some transparency," Lynch said.
Lynch said the legislation addressed several key gaps.
"The big one really was to kind of provide a groundwork where there was some licenses, but also some, some regulations around the use of force and firearms arrest procedures and notification," Lynch said.
The result was added safeguards for both the public and bounty hunters, including age limits, no criminal history allowed, mandatory notification of law enforcement during a capture, and 40 hours of training.
The Graffs say those standards reflect how they already operate.
"A good bounty hunter is somebody who is licensed with the Department of Insurance has a good standing with the Department of Insurance and who has a good established relationship with law enforcement and the community and are able to work alongside them," Joel Graff said.
It can be a dangerous job, but Joel and Beverly say the mission is always the same.
"We don't ever want to hurt individuals. We want to return them back to custody safely," Joel Graff said.
