The program aims to ensure their safety and encourage them to cooperate with law enforcement by providing information that can help solve cases and bring criminals to justice.
It is an important tool in maintaining the integrity of the justice system and protecting those who are willing to come forward with crucial information.
The decision to admit a witness into the program is made on a case-by-case basis and involves a rigorous assessment process.
[6] The program takes into account the unique circumstances of each case and tailors its approach to meet the specific needs of the witness and their situation.
[7] Several departments of the Security Bureau of Hong Kong have specialized units to provide protection for witnesses and their families who face threats to their life.
The standard Glock 17 or the long arms such as the Heckler & Koch MP5 sub-machine gun or the Remington Model 870 shotgun may be issued if the witness faces bigger threats.
The programme was officially established in 1997, following the assassination of journalist Veronica Guerin by a drugs gang she was reporting on.
Witnesses in the program are given a new identity, address and armed police protection either in Ireland or abroad (generally in Anglophone countries).
Court appearances by witnesses in protection are carried out under the security of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU), the highest-tier special weapons and tactical operations group in Irish law enforcement.
Although pentiti (usually from politically motivated terrorist organizations) had come forward since the 1970s during the so-called Years of Lead, it was not until the early 1990s that the program was officially established to efficiently manage the stream of pentiti which had defected from the major criminal organizations in Italy at the time, such as Cosa Nostra, the Camorra, the 'Ndrangheta, the Sacra Corona Unita, the Banda della Magliana and several others.
There was an outbreak in serious crimes where people didn't want to speak up and that was when the federal government found a loophole in order to find justice.
[19] In Ukraine, depending on the nature of the case and the location of the trial, the safety of witnesses is the responsibility of different agencies, such as the special judicial police unit Gryphon (part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs), the Security Service of Ukraine and, formerly, the special police unit Berkut.
Prior to the formation of the UKPPS in 2013, witness protection was solely the responsibility of local police forces.
Earlier in the 20th century, the Federal Bureau of Investigation also occasionally crafted new identities to protect witnesses.
[27][28][29] Before witness protection funds can be sought, law enforcement must conduct an assessment of the threat or potential for danger.