Witness protection

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.

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.

Canada

Canada's Witness Protection Program Act was Assented into Law June 20th, 1996 [cite web|title=Witness Protection Program Act (1996)|publisher=LegislationOnline|url=http://www.legislationline.org/legislation.php?lid=2807&tid=155|author=Government of Canada] by then Governor General Roméo LeBlanc.It was modelled after the United States Federal Witness Protection Program, and serves the same purpose. It is administered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

New Zealand

The New Zealand Police provide protection for witnesses against members of criminal gangs and serious criminals who feel threatened or intimidated. They run a Witness Protection Programme that monitors the welfare of witnesses and if necessary, helps create new identities. [cite web|title=CIB: International Organised Crime|url=http://www.police.govt.nz/service/cib/international_crime.html|author=New Zealand Police|accessdate=2008-07-05] . There is an agreement between the police and the Department of Corrections to ensure that protected witnesses receive appropriate protection from that department [cite web|title=Corrections Department NZ - Witness Protection|url=http://www.corrections.govt.nz/public/policyandlegislation/cpps/volume-4/part-2/chapter-2/witness-protection.html|author=Corrections Department NZ|accessdate=2008-07-05] .

In 2007 the program became the subject or public controversy when the previous conviction for drunk driving by a now protected witness was withheld from police and this resulted in him being able to continue driving and kill another motorist in a road accident while intoxicated [cite news
first = Sean
last = Scanlon
title = Grieving mother wants answers after witness protection tragedy
url = http://www.stuff.co.nz/4252914a6442.html
date = 2007-10-28
accessdate = 2008-07-05 ]

Republic of China (Taiwan)

The Republic of China promulgated the Witness Protection Act on February 9, 2000 [ [http://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/Fnews/FnewsContent.asp?msgid=193&msgType=en Witness Protection Act] , English translation from the Ministry of Justice] in Taiwan Area.

witzerland

Swiss law does not provide for a witness protection program. The cantonal police may provide "ad hoc" protection in exceptional cases. [cite web|title=Aussergerichtlicher Zeugenschutz|publisher=VPB 2007.19|language=German|url=http://www.bk.admin.ch/dokumentation/02574/02600/index.html|author=Federal Office of Justice|accessdate=2007-12-28]

United States

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. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6DE1138F937A35753C1A96E958260 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..."]

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. [ [http://caag.state.ca.us/cbi/content/protection.htm California Witness Protection Program - California Bureau of Investigation - California Dept. of Justice - Office of the Attorney General ] ] [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00F1EFF3D590C758CDDAE0894DB404482 'LIE OR DIE' - Aftermath of a Murder; Justice, Safety and the System: A Witness Is Slain in Brooklyn - New York Times ] ] [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E0DD153CF93AA35754C0A96F958260 METRO NEWS BRIEFS: CONNECTICUT; Witness Protection Plan Is Created by New Law] ]

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