HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM IN THE USA

Abstract

The author analyzed the prerequisites, creation process and evolution of the American WITSEC witness protection program. Attention is focused on the administrative and legal aspects of protection programs. The problems of interdepartmental interaction of law enforcement agencies in the United States of America during the implementation of the national strategy to fight the Italian mafia in the 70s of the last century are thoroughly analyzed. The author investigated the peculiarities of the use of “strike” forces against the LCN group, focusing on elements of social support for witnesses and procedures for resettlement to a new place of residence. The article draws attention to the “consumerist” approach of federal prosecutors to show the use of key witnesses against the mafia in the initial stages of the application of the protection program. The need to take into account psychological and other risks when determining a safe strategy for a witness or his relatives is emphasized. The author drew attention to the presence of problems in the American and modern Ukrainian systems of protection of participants in criminal proceedings due to the clear differentiation between programs for the protection of accidental witnesses and criminals who decided to testify against their former accomplices. The author emphasized the similarity of the approaches of the marshal service in the 80s of the last century and representatives of special units of law enforcement agencies of Ukraine in ensuring the safety of witnesses and victims through the use of physical protection. Special emphasis is placed on the role of the political leadership of the country and representatives of the Senate in coordination with the fight against organized crime during the term of office of the US presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Such elements of protection as the replacement of identification documents and the involvement of large US businesses to facilitate further employment of witnesses were analyzed. The author drew attention to the demonstration of strategic planning during the implementation of American witness protection programs, the limitation of qualified personnel necessary for high-quality protection, and the significant overloading of the protection unit due to the rapid increase of participants in the protection program. The results of the investigation of the Kefauver and McClellan Senate commission on the improvement of the witness protection system in the United States are analyzed and problems and positive trends that have radically changed the security landscape in this area are identified. The author investigated the stages of formation of the witness protection program in the United States Marshals Service, focusing on the analysis of management aspects, staff structure, organizational procedures and funding of the protection unit. Thanks to a well-founded analysis of individual stages of the development of the witness protection program in the USA, a comparative analysis of the evolution of the national system of protection of participants in criminal proceedings was carried out, which can contribute to the rethinking and further reloading of legal and administrative mechanisms for ensuring the safety of witnesses and victims in our country.