12/25/2023 0 Comments Witness protectionThe programme is designed to protect witnesses before, during and after court trials against attempts by criminal and other groups to prevent the normal functioning of the criminal justice system, including threats of violence and systematic witness intimidation, and where otherwise the witnesses may refuse to testify. The Witness Security Programme operates nationally, and was officially established in 1997, following the assassination of journalist Veronica Guerin by a drugs gang she was reporting on, and the subsequent trial that followed, whereby a gang member turned state's witness. The annual budget for the programme was €1.198 million in 2013, and was expected to be the same in 2014. According to the Department of Justice, the Garda Witness Security Programme is operated in "a significant number" of cases, although no details were released as to how many participants are currently under the protection of the programme. Further reinforcements can be drawn from the SDU when there is a need. All detectives attached to witness protection duties are heavily armed. The unit is headed by a Detective Inspector, who is answerable to the Detective Chief Superintendent in charge of the SDU, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Crime and Security and ultimately the Garda Commissioner. The Witness Protection Unit is a subsection of the Special Detective Unit, which falls under the remit of the Crime and Security Branch at Garda Headquarters. The Garda Witness Protection Unit is the small, dedicated and highly secretive group that runs the Witness Security Programme. The programme is under the operational control of the elite Garda Special Detective Unit (SDU), attached to the Garda Crime & Security Branch (CSB). Witness protection in Ireland is used in cases of serious, organised crime and terrorism. The Witness Security Programme in Ireland is administered by the Attorney General of Ireland, and is operated by the Garda Síochána, the national police force. The Garda ERU are typically involved in providing armed protection for the security of witnesses
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