Assessing the Effectiveness of Organized Crime Control Strategies ...

Assessing the Effectiveness of Organized Crime Control Strategies:
A Review of the Literature
4.7 Witness Protection Programs
These programs are designed to protect witnesses who testify in cases involving OC. They
provide for the health, safety, and welfare of these witnesses, as well as their families. Such
programs may involve the relocation of witnesses and their families, and the provision of new
identities and jobs. In the United States, the program has stretched resources, as the number of
individuals protected by the program has been far in excess of that anticipated. By the end of
1996, 6,500 witnesses and 15,000 dependents had entered the program (Sabbag, 1996). The
annual cost exceeds $25 million, well in excess of the original estimate of less than $1 million
(Albanese, 1996:193).
A major criticism of such programs is that they provide career criminals with “clean”
backgrounds that they can use to prey on an unsuspecting public (Abadinsky, 2003). This is
especially a concern as the allowance provided by these programs tends to be far more modest
than the income these individuals can typically generate from crime. There are many
documented cases of witnesses committing major crimes with the help of their new identities
(Abadinsky, 2003:335). Another serious concern is that estranged spouses of those protected by
the program have encountered difficulties visiting and maintaining a relationship with their
children (Tulsky, 1987). Furthermore, the US Department of Justice does not always receive the
cooperation of other federal agencies in obtaining military records, social security cards, medical
records, and other documents (Rhodes, 1984:183; Mathews, 1990).
Rhodes (1984) asserts that the US program is largely tailored to career criminals and may not
serve non-offenders as well. He describes a case in which a New York City businessman, upset
with his brother’s narcotics addiction, testified against OC figures with whom he had some
legitimate contact. His information helped obtain the conviction of several racketeers and his
courage was rewarded by advice provided by officials from the Witness Protection Program that
he ought to hastily sell his lucrative business and home, and relocate to Texas. He was also
advised to terminate any direct contacts with friends and relatives. The witness eventually
committed suicide. This story and others like it suggest that there may be fewer incentives for
non-criminals to participate in witness security programs (Mitchell, 1981). Many witnesses find
the process of changing their identities and concealing their past highly stressful (Montanino,
1984: 503).
These programs do, however, appear to afford protection. From 1961-1965, prior to the
establishment of the US program, the US Department of Justice lost more than 25 informants in
OC cases (Kelly, Schatzberg, and Chin, 1994: 497). Hundreds of other prosecutions were
stymied because witnesses feared for their lives. While about 30 witnesses who have left the US
program have been murdered, none following program guidelines have met this fate (Sabbag,
1996). (Another source indicates that a protected witness in a drug case was murdered in
Arkansas (Mitchell, 1981)). The program boasts a 97 percent success rate in protecting
witnesses under supervision (Lyman and Potter, 1997:433).
Montanino (1990:127) asserts that, “Of all the [US] government’s strategies for combating
serious criminality, the Federal Witness Security Program has been the most successful.”
Giuliani (1986:115) adds that, since the program was established in 1970, virtually every major
32 | Research and Statistics Division / Department of Justice Canada