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A bail bond agent, or bondsman, is any person or
corporation which will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail
for the appearance of a criminal defendant in court. Although banks,
insurance companies and other similar institutions are usually the sureties
on other types of contracts, for example, to bond a contractor who is under
a contractual obligation to pay for the completion of a construction
project, such entities are reluctant to put their depositors' or
policyholders' funds at the kind of risk involved in posting a bail bond.
Bail bond agents, on the other hand, are usually in the business to cater
exclusively to criminal defendants, often securing their customers' release
in just a few hours. Bail bond agents are almost exclusively found in the
United States. In most other countries bail is usually more modest and the
practice of bounty hunting is illegal.
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