Witness protection programs

SIGNIFICANCE: Witness protection programs provide security for witnesses whose testimony is critical in important court proceedings.

Some US states have developed state-managed witness protection programs. The most frequently used program is the federal Witness Protection Program. Since the program’s inception, under Title V of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) statute of 1970 , as a tool to combat organized crime, more than five thousand witnesses have been part of the Witness Protection Program. Beyond providing for the safety of witnesses, the program also provides for the health, relocation, psychological welfare, and social adjustment of witnesses. Federal protection through the Witness Protection Program has been extended to provide protection for any witnesses and their families who are recommended to the attorney general by a state US attorney’s office. After the program was evaluated by the Witness Security Review Committee in 1977, the Witness Security Reform Act, part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, was adopted to correct a number of deficiencies that existed in the original 1970 act.

A victim’s compensation fund was established through an adjustment made to the Witness Protection Program by the Reform Act. This fund compensates persons or beneficiaries for death or physical injury that may occur during relocation. However, injuries that occur to witnesses cannot be used as a cause of action against the United States. Also, for those witnesses who are sentenced to and remain in prison, placement in one of the five protected witness units in special areas of federal penitentiaries is necessary. Located throughout the country, these units are operated by the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Guidelines and Procedures

Before accepting witnesses in the Witness Protection Program, the attorney general considers the danger in which a community will be placed if a witness is relocated there. The safety of the town or region must be considered, because many of the witnesses in the program are criminals who, in exchange for revealing information, are provided with protection and a reduction in fines or prison time. However, the significance of witnesses’ testimony may outweigh the danger in which the witnesses place the community. Witnesses and those close to them must have their criminal histories reviewed and pass a psychological examination.

The attorney general, with aid from the US marshals, assists witnesses accepted into the program in a variety of ways. Witnesses may be provided with new identities, including new names and social security cards. Those involved in the program may then use the new information to obtain other pieces of identification, such as drivers' licenses. Consequently, witnesses’ birth identities cease to exist in the public domain, and the records of witnesses’ birth identities are turned over to the marshals service.

Once the decision to relocate a witness is made, local law-enforcement officials are notified that there is a protected witness in their territory. A relocation inspector is provided to witnesses to help them adjust to their new locations and identities. The inspector advises the witnesses about improved living strategies, such as answering people’s questions about the past. The witnesses are also provided with housing. For some, this may be a temporary safe house; for others, it may be a new permanent location. The transportation of previously owned household furniture and personal property to the witnesses’ new locations may also be provided. However, the type of personal property relocated with the witnesses is regulated, because certain personal items could connect the witnesses to their previous identities.

The witnesses are provided with a stipend to meet basic living expenses. The amount and duration of the stipend are regulated by the attorney general. Once witnesses are able to support themselves, monetary aid ceases. They are also assisted with obtaining employment. Although employment aid from the government entails paying for job training, government aid does not include providing false job resumes or references. Beyond these specific guidelines, witnesses generally are assisted in other ways that are necessary to achieve independence. The decision to reveal or not to reveal witnesses’ identities or locations is made by the attorney general after weighing the danger to the witnesses, to the public, to the success of the program, and to the forthcoming trial. However, the attorney general must reveal any requested information if ordered to do so by the court.

Witness Agreement

Once approved for the program, witnesses must sign a memorandum of understanding with the attorney general. The memorandum of understanding includes the agreement to testify and to provide information related to the proceedings to appropriate law-enforcement officials. To provide for the safety of the community, protected witnesses must agree not to commit any crimes and to take necessary steps to avoid detection. The witnesses must comply with legal obligations and civil judgments and must cooperate with reasonable requests of government employees who are involved in the protection process. Witnesses are allowed to designate persons to serve as their agents, who make sworn statements regarding the witnesses’ legal obligations, such as child custody and any outstanding debts. Witnesses are also advised to resolve the issue of child custody before entering the program, ensuring that their children’s best interests are considered in making a decision. Protected witnesses must inform witness protection officials of probation and parole responsibilities, of other activities, and of their current addresses.

Memorandums of understanding are entered into with all participants in the protection program who are over eighteen years of age. Before completing the evaluation that determines whether witnesses qualify for the program, the attorney general may decide to provide protection to witnesses immediately. Immediate protection is necessary in situations in which the lack of immediate protection would harm the investigation. The attorney general also has the power to terminate the protection of the witnesses if the memorandum of understanding is breached or the witnesses provide false information. The decision to terminate protection is not open to judicial review.

Bibliography

Earley, Pete, and Gerald Shur. WITSEC: Inside the Federal Witness Protection Program. New York: Bantam Books, 2002. Inside view of the federal Witness Protection Program, based on Shur’s twenty-five-year career as an attorney in the Department of Justice.

Fearnow, Dawson. "Incognito, Inc. : Arizona's Secret, Starring Role in the Federal Witness Protection Program." Phoenix, 1 Sept. 2023, www.phoenixmag.com/2023/09/01/incognito-inc-arizona-secret-starring-role-in-the-federal-witness-protection-program/. Accessed 11 July 2024.

Fyfe, Nicholas R. Protecting Intimidated Witnesses. Aldershot Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2001. Detailed study of a witness protection program in Great Britain, with emphasis on Scotland.

Hill, Henry, with Gus Russo. Gangsters and Goodfellas: The Mob, Witness Protection, and Life on the Run. New York: M. Evans, 2004. Firsthand account of a former criminal living under the Witness Protection Program by the man whose criminal life was dramatized in the film Goodfellas (1990).

Sabbag, Robert. “The Invisible Family.” New York Times Magazine (February 11, 1996). Offers a personal understanding of the witness protection program and general information.