The Witness Security Programme in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

is administered by the

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, and is operated by the '' Garda Síochána'', the national police force.

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 ...

in Ireland is used in cases of serious,

organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally tho ...

and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. The programme is under the operational control of the elite Garda Special Detective Unit (SDU), attached to the

Garda Crime & Security Branch , headquarters = Phoenix Park, Dublin (D8) , formed = , picture = File:Badge of An Garda Síochána.svg , picture_width = , picture_caption = , preceding1 = C3 , preceding2 = , jurisdiction = Ireland , employees = Undisclosed , budg ...

(CSB).

Structure and operation

The Garda Witness Protection Unit is the small, dedicated and highly secretive group that runs the Witness Security Programme. The Witness Protection Unit is a subsection of the Special Detective Unit, which falls under the remit of the Crime and Security Branch at Garda Headquarters. The unit is headed by a Detective Inspector, who is answerable to the Detective Chief Superintendent in charge of the SDU, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Crime and Security and ultimately the

Garda Commissioner The Garda Commissioner ( ga, Coimisinéir an Gharda Síochána) – officially known as the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána – is the head of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of the Republic of Ireland. The Garda Commissione ...

. All detectives attached to witness protection duties are heavily armed. Further reinforcements can be drawn from the SDU when there is a need. According to the Department of Justice, the Garda Witness Security Programme is operated in "a significant number" of cases, although no details were released as to how many participants are currently under the protection of the programme. The annual budget for the programme was €1.198 million in 2013, and was expected to be the same in 2014. The Witness Security Programme operates nationally, and was officially established in 1997, following the assassination of journalist

Veronica Guerin Veronica Guerin (5 July 1958 – 26 June 1996) was an Irish crime reporter who was murdered by drug lords. Born in Dublin, she was an athlete in school and later played on the Irish national teams for both football and basketball. After study ...

by a drugs gang she was reporting on, and the subsequent trial that followed, whereby a gang member turned state's witness. The programme is designed to protect witnesses before, during and after court trials against attempts by criminal and other groups to prevent the normal functioning of the criminal justice system, including threats of violence and systematic

witness intimidation 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 difficult ...

, and where otherwise the witnesses may refuse to testify. In circumstances where the Senior Investigation Officer (''Garda Síochána'') in a case has identified a witness who is crucial to the case and the evidence to be proffered is not available elsewhere, and where there is a credible threat to the life of the witness and/or their family, an application can be made - with the consent of the witness - to have them included in the Witness Security Programme. Relatives of those who are under the protection of the programme may be protected and relocated if their safety is deemed to be at risk. The majority of those in the programme have been involved in criminal activity themselves. The

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will only grant protection to those who cooperate with investigations conducted by the ''Garda Síochána''. According to the Office of the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members of ...

(DPP), it is estimated that 25% of crimes in Ireland are not reported due to intimidation, and one in 10 crimes reported to Gardaí result in overt intimidation against witnesses, often culminating in the collapse of prosecutions. Witnesses in the programme are given a new identity, address and armed police protection either in Ireland or abroad (generally in

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countries, such as the

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, Australia,

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and

mainland Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

). Law enforcement in host countries may cooperate with the ''Garda Síochána'' in providing security for witnesses in the programme, such as the

United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a Government agency, bureau within the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Depa ...

. Protectees are usually provided with financial assistance, as they must leave their employment. Court appearances by witnesses in protection are carried out under the security of the Garda Emergency Response Unit (ERU), the premier armed tactical operations group in Irish law enforcement (and a section of the SDU). The Irish Prison Service may also be involved in providing security to witnesses if they are in prison at the time. There has never been a reported breach of security in which a protectee was harmed.

Legislation

Legislation was not required to establish the programme, but its operation is supported by a number of legislative provisions. The intimidation of witnesses is an offence pursuant to Section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1999. Section 41 specifies the offence as harming, threatening or menacing, or in any other way intimidating or putting in fear another person who is assisting in the investigation of an offence by the ''Garda Síochána'', with the intention of causing the investigation or course of justice to be obstructed, perverted or interfered with. The offence is punishable on indictment by a fine and/or a term of imprisonment of up to 15 years. Section 40 of the same Act makes it an offence for any person, without lawful authority, to make an attempt to identify the whereabouts or any new identity of a witness who has been relocated under the programme. The offence is punishable on indictment by a fine and/or a term of imprisonment of up to five years.

References

External links

Office of the Attorney General official website

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) official website

Garda Síochána official website
{{Garda Síochána Garda Crime and Security Branch

Witness Security Programme

Structure and operation

Legislation

See also

References

External links