THE State’s witness protection programme cannot work under the present system.

This is the claim by some police officers who say that witnesses are abandoned by the State when they are placed in “safe houses”.

One former senior officer told TnT Mirror that no financial support is given to these witnesses to provide for their families while they are kept in protective custody and because of the length of time the cases take to go to trial, they become frustrated and leave.

“The police and families of these witnesses are the ones who have to provide for them while they are in a safe house,” the officer said.

He said under the present system a witness can leave and return when he wants.

“There is no kind of supervision and when a witness decides to leave, he or she is free to do so,” the officer noted.

The State has come under fire for its ineffective Justice Protection Programme following the acquittal Sheldon “Skelly” Lovell and four other men, who were charged with the kidnapping and false imprisonment of Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation clerk, Dennis Persad-Jodhan, outside his father’s mini-mart at Evans Street, Curepe, three and a half years ago.

A ransom was demanded for Persad-Jodhan’s release.

Days later his body was found in Aranguez, with his hands tied behind his back.

When the trial started on Monday, the State informed Justice Larry Lalla that it could not proceed with the matter since its key witness, Joel “Footy” Phillips had “disappeared,” from a “safe house”.

The prosecution said Phillips had disappeared after leaving the protection programme and would not be able to go ahead with the trial.

Police sources say that when the State decided to grant immunity to Phillips, who was reportedly involved in the kidnapping of Persad-Jordhan, he should have been kept in protective custody in one of the prisons until the end of the trial.

Former Minister of
National Security
HOWARD CHIN LEE

DPP GEOFFREY
HENDERSON

CoP TREVOR PAUL

DENNIS PERSAD-
JODHAN ... kidnapped
and murdered.

Some cops suspected that Phillips was going to “disappear” before the trial for fear that after the case his life would be in danger.

“Witnesses in protective custody have to return to society at the end of the case and there are no provisions in the system to give them a new identity and send them abroad to live,” one officer said.

Former Minister of National Security Howard Chin Lee had told this reporter some three years ago that the government was trying to discuss with other Caribbean leaders about a witness protection programme.

Sources say Caribbean leaders are not interested in any witness protection programme because they fear that some witnesses who have criminal records could get involved in illegal activities.

In the United States witnesses in high-profile cases are given a new identity and relocated to other States.

Police investigators have been finding it difficult to get eyewitnesses to major crimes to come forward to give evidence because of fear for their lives.

Homicide officers have to either depend on a confession or get the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to grant immunity to criminals involved in killings or kidnappings to get a conviction.

DPP Geoffrey Henderson has a poor record in trying to put criminals behind bars. Nearly every month, killers and kidnappers are walking free from the courts because of the “weak” evidence on which they were charged. The DPP gives the police directions whether to prosecute.

The statistics show that over the past two years, under National Security Minister Martin Joseph and Police Commissioner Trevor Paul, crime detection has been at its lowest ever.

Last year, the police were only able to solve 21 per cent of the 360 murders committed -- which Joseph admitted was unacceptable.

In just 182 days this year the country has crossed 200 murders and is again heading for another record.

For the past three years since Joseph took over as Minister of National Security this, country has recorded its highest ever murder rate.

Police officers have accused Joseph of only embarking on public relations whenever he talks about the crime problem.