[4] The amended issues included bail, sentencing reform, pleas for insanity, and penalties for drug offenses.

The precursor to WITSEC was the Federal Witness Protection Program, created in the mid-1960s by Gerald Shur, the attorney in charge of the Intelligence and Special Services Unit of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the United States Department of Justice.

[8][9] Another benefit of the federal program is that the Marshals Service provides payments to participants of about $60,000 on average, while also assisting them with finding housing and stable jobs under their new identities.

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.

Marshals cooperate fully with local law enforcement and court authorities to bring witnesses to justice or to have them fulfill their legal responsibilities.

[19] While this is far lower than the national average, notable instances of protected witnesses returning to a life of crime exist, such as Sammy Gravano.

The Emergency Witness Assistance Program,[21] created in 1997, provides services more quickly, but participation is limited to a 30-day period.