No Protection Program for State Witnesses
By L.K. Hewlett
Editor - SKNVibes.com
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS - POLICE officials in St. Kitts have disclosed to SKNVibes.com that there is currently no Witness Protection Program in place to safeguard the lives of state witnesses.
However, Police Public Relations Head Inspector Cromwell Henry assured that there is a system in place to protect persons giving key testimony in sensitive cases should the need arise.
Governments throughout the Caribbean region continue to grapple with increasing crime rates and in the absence of forensic evidence, state prosecutors are forced to rely heavily on witness testimony.
With regard to the protection of state witnesses in St. Kitts and Nevis, Henry said that once the person giving testimony agrees, Police agencies are equipped to handle their protection.
“If the need arises where a witness believes their life might be in danger because of statements they have given to the police and have to testify to in court, we have our system to protect that person. But that person has to go along with that system and sometimes that becomes a challenge,” Henry related. ~~Adz:Right~~
Henry also acknowledged the fact that ideally, police and state prosecutors would prefer to use forensic evidence such as D.N.A. to convict criminals but due to the expense associated with the procedure of forensic testing, have no other option but to depend on witness testimony.
“We recognize that forensics is the way to go but we still encourage witnesses to come forward. Because we have to rely on foreign labs for forensic testing it is extremely expensive and due to the facilities’ backlogs, it also takes a very long time.”
He added that the time it takes for forensic results to return to the federation directly influences how long it takes for cases to be tried in court.
Understandably, Henry could not reveal any of the security measures used to protect state witnesses but avowed that “Once a person does the right thing and gives critical statements to police and is willing to testify in court to put these criminals away, we will take care of them and ensure their safety.”
