The Scottish Office

Against a background of growing concern about serious cases of witness intimidation, Strathclyde Police established a Witness Protection Programme in 1996. The Programme provides specialist assistance for victim and non-victim prosecution witnesses of serious crimes who are at a very high risk from serious, normally lifethreatening, intimidation. Although these extreme cases are rare, they often require witnesses and their families to be permanently relocated away from their home area and may also involve them in a change of identity. This requires the Witness Protection Programme, assisted by other agencies, to co-ordinate the secure management of all the financial and welfare needs of witnesses and their families. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative research, this study examined the extent and nature of witness intimidation in Strathclyde and evaluated the response of the police both to the most serious cases of witness intimidation, normally dealt with by the Witness Protection Programme, and to less serious but more widespread cases of witness intimidation and harassment in Strathclyde. Main Findings • Between September 1996 and the end of July 1998, 117 cases of real and perceived witness intimidation involving 142 witnesses came to the attention of Strathclyde Police. 37 of the cases were assessed as "Level 1* cases ('High or Very High' threat) and 80 were assessed as 'Level 2' cases ('Significant to "Negligible' threat). • Level 1 cases were typically characterised by the witness having knowledge relating to a serious crime (usually murder, attempted murder or serious assault) and the involvement of several intimidators who normally lived near to the witness. • Of the 37 Level 1 cases, the Witness Protection Programme dealt exclusively with 14 cases involving 24 witnesses and their families. Each case involved the secure management of the welfare and financial needs of witnesses and permanently relocating the witnesses and their families away from their home area. The other 23 Level 1 cases remained a divisional responsibility. • The financial costs of protecting witnesses on the Witness Protection Programme varied greatly according to individual circumstances and the nature of the threat. Up to July 1998, the average expenditure per case was just over £2700 with the maximum spent on a case being over £11,000. • Intimidated witnesses receiving assistance from the Witness Protection Programme generally acknowledged that they would have been too frightened to give evidence without police help. However, many had anxieties relating to the long term social and economic consequences of living in a new area with only limited contact with their family and friends. • Intimidated witnesses who remained the responsibility of divisional police officers had more mixed feelings about the police response. Although some had been satisfied with the actions of individual officers, most witnesses were generally critical of what they perceived as a failure by the police to take the intimidation seriously and to provide much support. Introduction Previous research suggests that cases of witness intimidation can be categorised as falling into one of three 'rings' corresponding to the seriousness of the intimidation (1):