Witness protection teams planned

Police can find it difficult to get witnesses to come forward

Plans to improve the protection of witnesses in criminal trials are being considered by police and ministers.

One proposal is to create a regional network of specialist teams of officers across England and Wales.

Protection offered to witnesses giving evidence, who often face intimidation and threats, ranges from panic alarms to a full move and identity change.

Earlier this month a witness, who was a known criminal, was given anonymity in the Birmingham shootings trial.

Prosecution lawyers and police forces have warned the intimidation of witnesses is becoming more widespread.

The new proposals would mean witnesses under protection could be passed between teams whenever they needed to be moved and given a new identity.

Currently, police in the original investigating force have to relocate along with the witnesses, said BBC crime correspondent Neil Bennett.

Better co-ordination

Accurate figures on the levels of witness intimidation were "extremely" difficult to determine, because neither the government nor individual police forces collated them, said the Home Office.

But the feeling was that there was a greater need for better witness protection, said our correspondent.

Improved co-ordination between the 43 forces in England and Wales would allow police to pool their expertise, he added.

The Aston shootings case put witness issues back on the agenda

Discussions about setting up a special central bureau for witness protection were "at the very early stages", and no decision has been made about its size, location, or the work it would do, said the Home Office.

But the spokeswoman stressed that it would not take any operational powers away from the police.

Local forces run their own schemes and make decisions about who is eligible for witness protection.

The Home Office commissioned a review of witness protection arrangements in 2004, following a request by police. It is now consulting on the results.

The review said there was no need for a full-scale national witness protection agency, but that the current services could be expanded.

A Home Office report in 2000 said victim and witness intimidation was more likely to happen following offences of violence and vandalism.

'Wall of silence'

Women were particularly likely to experience intimidation, especially in domestic violence cases.

The majority of those harassing witnesses were the original offender, but in 15% of cases it was their family or friends, said the report.

Police often find it difficult to persuade witnesses, who fear retribution or have faced direct threats, to give evidence.

Detectives were said to have faced a "wall of silence" in trying to get witnesses to speak out following the murders of Letisha Shakespeare, 17, and Charlene Ellis, 18, in Aston on 2 January 2003.

"Mark Brown", a known criminal with gang connections, became the first "pseunonymous" witness, with only the judge and prosecution knowing his real identity.

Defence teams in the trial - which led to the conviction of four men - argued the move would result in an unfair trial.