12/31/2023 0 Comments Witness protection program rulesLike the US scheme, the current programme often involves the affordance of State police protection, impunity from prosecution, transport to a new locality, provision of a new identity, and other incentivised perks (e.g. The infamous 1996 murder of investigative journalist Veronica Guerin provided the catalyst for the hasty inception and informal establishment of Ireland’s answer to WITSEC, the Irish Witness Security Programme. The US Federal WITSEC Protection Programme, considered by many today as the shining example of modern-day witness protection, was originally developed to combat these powerful and tightly knit criminal enterprises.įast forward two decades and Ireland found itself similarly besieged with serious crime, emanating both from the Troubles and the booming drug trade. Modern-day witness protection draws its heritage from the late 1960s and 1970s and America’s attempts to combat the powerful Italian Mafia and its inviolable code of 'Omertà’ (‘honour through silence’). The birth of witness protection programmes This lack of formalisation is due both to the programme's history, as well as to the belief that it is to the apparent benefit of the programme to run in absolute, self-governed incognito. In fact, the only known tangible piece of material governing its operation lies firmly embedded in a confidential Garda circular. However, what makes Ireland stand out is the fact that there is no legislation governing the programme itself. Yet, witness protection is not some fanciful, far-removed concept of policing and it is prevalent in almost every jurisdiction, including this one. For many, our only knowledge of witness protection stems from watching US crime dramas from the sanctuary of our own homes. Most people are generally unaware that an Irish Witness Security Programme even exists. What makes the Irish witness protection scheme stand out is that there is no legislation governing the programme itself, writes Aaron Harte-Hughes, Department of Law The secret world of the Irish witness protection programme
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