United States Federal Witness Protection Program

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Template:Expand In the United States, the Witness Protection Program (also known as WITSEC) is established by the Witness Protection Act, which in turn sets out the manner in which the U.S. Attorney General may provide for the relocation and protection of a witness or potential witness of the federal government, or for a state government in an official proceeding concerning organized crime or other serious offences. See 18 U.S.C.A 3521 et. seq.

Witness protection is the process in which witnesses, such as those who testify in criminal trials, are protected against intimidation before their testimony or criminal retaliation after. The U.S. Federal Government both relocates and gives new identities to witnesses who risk their lives by giving testimony as well as providing financial and employment aid. To help avoid discovery, witnesses are expected to sever all ties with former acquaintances. According to the agency, "No program participant following security guidelines has ever been harmed while under the active protection of the Marshals Service"; conversely, nearly all of the witnesses who were harmed had either failed to fully comply, oftentimes contacting old acquaintances[1], or had already left the program.

The Federal Government also gives grants to the states to enable them to provide the same program. The federal program is called WITSEC (the Federal Witness Protection Program) and was founded in the late 1960s by Gerald Shur when he was in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the United States Department of Justice. Most witnesses are protected by the U.S. Marshals Service, while protection of incarcerated witnesses is the duty of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Normally, the witness is provided with a new name and location.

Many U.S. states, including California 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.[2][3]