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The United States Federal Witness Protection Program (WPP), also known as the Witness Security Program or WITSEC, is a
witness protection Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...
program codified through 18 U.S. Code § 3521 and administered by the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
and operated by the
United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...
that is designed to protect threatened
witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...
es before, during, and after a
trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...
. A handful of states –
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, and
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
– and Washington, D.C., 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, in part because state governments lack the ability to issue federal documents, such as social security cards, verifying the new identity of protected witnesses.


History

The WITSEC program was formally established under Title V of the
Organized Crime Control Act The Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 (, October 15, 1970), was an Act of Congress sponsored by Democratic Senator John L. McClellan and signed into law by U.S. President Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April ...
of 1970, which in turn sets out the manner in which the
United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
may provide for the relocation and protection of a witness or potential witness of the federal or
state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
in an official proceeding concerning organized crime or other serious offenses. See 18 U.S.C.A 3521, ''et seq.'' The federal government also gives grants to the states to enable them to provide similar services. WITSEC was originally created as the Federal Witness Protection Program in the mid-1960s by
Gerald Shur Gerald Shur (October 18, 1933 – August 25, 2020) was an American lawyer, and the founder of the United States Federal Witness Protection Program. Gerald Shur was born on October 18, 1933, in the Bronx, New York, the son of Rose (Nissell) Shur, a ...
, when he was Attorney in Charge of the Intelligence and Special Services Unit of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the United States Department of Justice. Most witnesses are protected by the
United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...
, while protection of incarcerated witnesses is the duty of the
Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
. Former decorated federal law enforcement officer John Thomas Ambrose was convicted in 2009 of leaking information about a federal witness in the Witness Protection Program to
Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...
hitman
Nicholas Calabrese Nicholas W. Calabrese (born November 30, 1942) is an American former mob hitman, best known for being the second made man ever to testify against the Chicago Outfit. His testimony and cooperation with federal prosecutors helped result in the 20 ...
and other members of Chicago organized crime.


Operations

As of 2020, approximately 19,000 witnesses and family members have been protected by the U.S. Marshals Service since the program began in 1971. According to Gerald Shur, who created the federal program, about 95% of witnesses in the program are "criminals". They may be intentional criminals, or people who are doing business with criminals, such as one engineer who bought off a mayor because that's how you do business in the city.' In his mind, he wasn't doing anything criminal," as Shur said. A witness who agrees to testify for the prosecution is generally eligible to join the program, which is entirely voluntary. Witnesses are permitted to leave the program and return to their original identities at any time, although this is discouraged by administrators. In both criminal and civil matters involving protected witnesses, the U.S. Marshals cooperate fully with local law enforcement and court authorities to bring witnesses to justice or to have them fulfill their legal responsibilities.


Recidivism

Fewer than 17% of protected witnesses who have committed crimes are caught committing other crimes, compared to parolees, of whom almost 42% return to crime.


See also

*
Witness immunity Witness immunity from prosecution occurs when a prosecutor grants immunity to a witness in exchange for testimony or production of other evidence. In the United States, the prosecution may grant immunity in one of two forms. Transactional immun ...
*
Witness Security Programme (Ireland) The Witness Security Programme in Ireland is administered by the Attorney General of Ireland, and is operated by the ''Garda Síochána'', the national police force. Witness protection in Ireland is used in cases of serious, organised crime and ...
*
Witness tampering Witness tampering is the act of attempting to improperly influence, alter or prevent the testimony of witnesses within criminal or civil proceedings. Witness tampering and reprisals against witnesses in organized crime cases have been a difficul ...


References


Further reading

* {{refend United States, Federal United States Department of Justice United States Marshals Service * 1970 establishments in the United States