Bail Enforcement Agents (Department of Insurance)

Curtis Waltman filed this request with the Department of Insurance of Indiana.
Status
Completed

Communications

From: Curtis Waltman

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Indiana Access to Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

Records relating to bail enforcement Agents also known as BEA's, Bounty Hunters, bail agents, bail recovery agents, bail recovery agents, skip tracers, or fugitive recovery agents. An itemized list of the records I am requesting about BEA's follows:

-Any training material including syllabi, power point presentations, or any distributed reading material. Please conduct this portion of the search from 1/1/05 to the date this request was processed on.

-Any regulations, policies, guidelines, or any other rules made to limit or manage what a BEA can and cannot do.

-Use of force policies for BEA's.

-All complaints against any BEA licensed or permitted by this agency with the following date range: 1/1/05 to the date this request is processed on.

-Financial documentation concerning the gross income of the Bail Enforcement industry in the state. In addition or in the event the agency does not keep documentation about the overall finances going to Bail Enforcement, any documentation about billing, salary/payment range, or potential benefits are also requested.

-Number of injuries and fatalities reported per year from the Bail Enforcement industry.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 7 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Curtis Waltman

From: Groth, Jenifer

[cid:image002.jpg@01D2BF38.CBC3DB50]

April 27, 2017

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL ONLY
Email: requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>
Name: Curtis Waltman
Organization: MuckRock

Re: Public Records Request

Dear Mr. Waltman,

The Indiana Department of Insurance has received your public records request for the following:

· Records relating to bail enforcement agents (also known as BEA's, Bounty Hunters, bail agents, bail recovery agents, skip tracers, or fugitive recovery agents).

o Any training material including syllabi, power point presentations, or any distributed reading material. Search from 1/1/05 to the date this request was processed on.

o Any regulations, policies, guidelines, or any other rules made to limit or manage what a BEA can and cannot do.

o Use of force policies for BEA's.

o All complaints against any BEA licensed or permitted by this agency with the following date range: 1/1/05 to the date this request is processed on.

o Financial documentation concerning the gross income of the Bail Enforcement industry in the state. In addition or in the event the agency does not keep documentation about the overall finances going to Bail Enforcement, any documentation about billing, salary/payment range, or potential benefits are also requested.

o Number of injuries and fatalities reported per year from the Bail Enforcement industry.

Your correspondence is a request for public records pursuant to Indiana Code § 5-14-3 et seq. Please accept this letter as a response to your request under Indiana Code § 5-14-3-9. As we currently have several other open APRA requests at this time, we appreciate your patience in advance as we work to complete your request.

Indiana Code § 5-14-3-8(b) provides for a copy charge of ten cents ($0.10) per standard sized (8 ½" x 11") pages copied, fifty cents ($0.50) per ledger sized (11" x 17") pages, and $1.00 for plan sized (24" x 36") pages copied. Once we know what records are available in response to your request, we will notify you of any charges prior to sending you the records.

The Indiana General Assembly has provided public agencies discretion as to whether to disclose certain records under Indiana Code § 5-14-3-4(b). We will make requested disclosable records available on a case by case basis as permitted by statute. If we deny disclosure of a record or records, we will cite the specific exemption that authorizes our office to withhold a specific record pursuant to Indiana Code § 5-14-3-9(d).
Regards,

Jenifer Groth, APR
Director of Communication and Outreach
Indiana Department of Insurance

From: Groth, Jenifer

Mr. Waltman,

Please see attached records that IDOI has responsive to your request.

In response to the request for all complaints against any BEA licensed:

Complaint investigation files against BEA's are considered confidential attorney work product and are not disclosable under Indiana Code § 5-14-3-4(b). Complaint files are retained at the Department for five years. As such, documentation prior to April, 2012 would not be available with the exception of the Administrative Orders that are uploaded on the Department's website at www.in.gov/idoi<http://www.in.gov/idoi>. To view the Orders, go to:
* ABOUT tab in the center of the Department's home page
* ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS (the information displays best in Google Chrome or Firefox)

Orders for all Enforcement Actions taken by the Department since 2009 are listed on the website. Bail Bond and Recovery Agent Orders are identified with a "BB" in the cause number. A link to the Order should be available for each record. If for some reason you are unable to view the listed Order, please provide a list of the specific cause numbers and the Department will attempt to locate the record by other means, if possible.

In response to the request for any regulations, etc. for BEA's:

This information is also available on the Department's website. Go to:
* INSURANCE LAWS, RULES & BULLETINS tab on the left-hand side of the home page

Indiana Code § 27-10; Rule 760 IAC 1-6.2; and, Bulletin 180 are specific to Bail and Recovery producers.
Regards,

Jenifer Groth, APR
Director of Communication and Outreach
Indiana Department of Insurance

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