Witness protection

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Witness protection is protection of a threatened witness, before, during and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require protection until the conclusion of a trial, some witnesses are provided with new identity and may live out the rest of their lives under government protection.

Witness protection is usually required in trials against organized crime, where law enforcement sees a risk for witnesses to be intimidated by colleagues of defendants. It is also used at war crime trials.

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[edit] Witness protection by country

Not all countries have formal witness protection programs, instead, local police may implement informal protection as the need arises in specific cases.

[edit] United States

Further information: United States Federal Witness Protection Program

The United States established a formal program of witness protection as part of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. Prior to that program, witness protection was also instituted after the American Civil War as part of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 to protect people testifying against members of the Ku Klux Klan. In the 20th century, the Federal Bureau of Investigation also crafted new identities to protect witnesses. [1]

Many states, including California, Illinois, Connecticut, and New York, have their own witness protection programs for crimes not covered by the federal program. The state-run programs provide less extensive protections than the federal program.[2][3][4]

[edit] Republic of China (Taiwan)

The Republic of China promulgated the Witness Protection Act on February 9, 2000[5] in Taiwan Area.

[edit] Switzerland

Swiss law does not provide for a witness protection program. The cantonal police may provide ad hoc protection in exceptional cases.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gary T. Rowe Jr., 64, Who Informed on Klan In Civil Rights Killing, Is Dead states "He was buried under the name of Thomas Neal Moore, the identity that Federal authorities helped him to assume in 1965 after he testified against fellow Klansmen..."
  2. ^ California Witness Protection Program - California Bureau of Investigation - California Dept. of Justice - Office of the Attorney General
  3. ^ 'LIE OR DIE' - Aftermath of a Murder; Justice, Safety and the System: A Witness Is Slain in Brooklyn - New York Times
  4. ^ METRO NEWS BRIEFS: CONNECTICUT; Witness Protection Plan Is Created by New Law
  5. ^ Witness Protection Act, English translation from the Ministry of Justice
  6. ^ Federal Office of Justice. Aussergerichtlicher Zeugenschutz (German). VPB 2007.19. Retrieved on 2007-12-28.}}
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