Lack of Witness Protection adds to Cold Case Backlog

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n the aftermath of the IMPACS investigation, a senior police officer was warned that while he was in danger of being killed by fellow officers, he could not be guaranteed protection. There have been a number of shooting fatalities in the last two weeks, without arrests. One of those recently gunned down in Wilton’s Yard, it has emerged, was a crown witness in an upcoming murder trial. This week police confirmed that the man was indeed a police witness in two murder cases, that he had been a solid police resource. It remains conjectural the impact his death will have on other witnesses.

A recent visit by this reporter to the Major Crimes Unit revealed that witnesses seeking protection at this time can only hope to get an   unofficial agreement with the Director of Public Prosecutions and Commissioner of Police, depending on the level of risk involved. In short, it seems Saint Lucia does not have a witness protection programme in place.

ACP for Crime and Intelligence, Wayne Charlery, told me: “We depend heavily on eyewitness reports and if they are not available it would devalue the cases presented before the court. The more evidence we   can present, the stronger our case.”

Said Charlery: “Of course a lot of these unsolved cases are the result of witnesses being fearful of repercussions. Lack of informants is a major reason we have such a backlog of cold cases.” Charlery is hopeful that an effective witness protection programme following the blueprint of what is currently provided by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is somewhere in the pipeline. The Regional Security System, of which Saint Lucia is a member, is the hopeful facilitator of this future witness protection service. “There are great benefits to be derived from exploring the introduction and implementation of a witness protection programme,” Charlery said. “To work effectively it has to be regional. Who knows we might get that federal police we’ve been dreaming of quite a while to take care of that transnational and organised crime which crosses borders.”