Highlights From the 'Roadhouse/Renegade' Era.

I come from the 'Gen X' era of bar security and bounty hunting depicted in the 1989 classic movie, Roadhouse', starring Patrick Swayze and Lorenzo Lamas' iconic 'Renegade' TV series which debuted in 1992.

Please note the time-honored term bounty hunter is frowned upon in the bail fugitive profession. Some variation of 'bail recovery agent' or 'bail enforcement agent' is preferred. I like the old title.

Deescalation wasn't the holy grail it is now

Bouncers continue to be called by that title, though it's used interchangeably with security, security guard, security host or a dignified sounding, night life security professional.

My start in these fields was a time of big hair-for some folks-and big egos for numerous bouncers and bounty hunters. There were no state licensing requirements and training was mostly 'OJT' or 'on-the-job'.

Schools, online courses and associations have since come into being.

Headline making horror stories in both industries led to today's more regulated marketplace.

Consider:

1. 1997 horror story: Bounty Hunters Gun Down Pair At Wrong House Three Held In Deadly Case Of Mistaken Identity.
2. 2022 horror story: Dallas’s Law Will Protect Consumers, Business Owners, and Security Guards.

There was one local bounty hunter, bouncer, repossession agent, security officer and incident-waiting-to-happen whose egotism was exceeded only by his efficiency in these fields. He was a bad guy who was very good at getting other bad guys.

He had been arrested several times in the course of his duties, shot a subject at an apartment complex he secured and beat up numerous captured bail fugitives.

Not someone I wanted to emulate.

We clashed a few times over the years. Nothing physical. Just a harsh difference in how to 'create safety' as I would later call it.

I wasn't a 'macho' bouncer nor bounty hunter in the 90s and early 2000s. My interest in private public safety solutions drew me to these fields. Not some powertrip I saw egotists enjoy.

It was definitely a no-nonsense time period. It wasn't uncommon for bouncers and bounty hunters to forcefully quell situations first, last and always.

Deescalation wasn't the holy grail it is now.

In retrospect, I appreciated the expectation each industry had to handle situations. I drew the line at violating people's rights.

Police were called to arrest rowdy detained patrons or to document incidents involving especially belligerent bail jumpers.

The art is to stop trouble before it happens

Both industries are still expected to decisively handle situations. The way they do so has been toned down from yesteryear's hands-on approach.

I can still hear the incident-waiting-to-happen bounty hunter, et. al., tell me to bodyslam a bail fugitive we were after. I never did that to anyone. Degrading people wasn't my goal.

What became known as my 'safety creation' theory evolved in direct response to narrow mindedness of those days.

I gravitated toward identifying 'pre-incident indicators' to head off trouble in bars before it started. Its energy psychology equivalent was feeling a surge of negative energy about to project out of someone amid music and mingling.

The art is to stop trouble before it happens.

The same held true for bounty hunting. Predicting bail fugitives actions was mandatory in effecting a peaceful or largely peaceful 'surrender' where you captured and searched by a defendant on bail who failed to appear in court.

The 'surrender' ended with the captured bail fugitive delivered to the local jail. You would turn in the arrest.and booking form to the bail agent for payment and to update his or her client records.

I stopped bounty hunting when it became apparent too many bail agents were cheapskates. Bail recovery in its purest form is a commission-only job. Bounty hunters got nickled and dimed for risking life, liberty and liability on behalf of greedy bail bondsmen.

Being a bouncer in today's dangerous entertainment environment isn't something I recommend. In fact, chasing bail fugitives is often much safer.

Bar owners aren't known for their generosity toward bouncers either.

At any rate, that ends my quick trip down memory lane.

Trust me, I have more highlights from the Generation X 'Roadhouse/Renegade' era of bouncing and bounty hunting.

Stay tuned.

Nadra Enzi aka Cap Black addresses 'anti safety' theory and policies through advocacy and consulting usually for free but please don't tell hardcore capitalist friends.