# How Does Witness Protection Work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 28, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879 "2011-09-28T14:13:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/41 "2012-02-08T23:22:41Z")
> [@T.Slothrop](#): > > "just move to a big city and change your name to ‘Bill’ and drive a bus. . . . Robert Jones: Blood Sport. > > My brother fled to Canada. I told him there wasn’t a war on but he didn’t listen. I tell people I’m in the Witness Protection Program, then I tell them not to tell anyone. Then I give them a fierce look. ---
**Author:** ![T.Slothrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@T.Slothrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T.Slothrop)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/42 "2012-02-09T06:06:56Z")
Did you take your Calphalon with you when you fled to Canada ? I have read above (Sally Mander) that it is very important to take your Calphalon with you when you enter the witness protection program. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/43 "2012-02-09T14:37:07Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > I recently watched a documentary on the murder of the Israeli athletes at the 1976 Munich Olympics. One of the killers (a Palestinian now living undercover) was interviewed–muffled/distorted voice and black silohette of some guy with a hat on and a beard… All I could think of was WTF?? Arent you worried that the interviewer might get blackmailed, bribed or tortured into giving you up? > > I have no idea how such interviews are orchestrated, but it seems pretty risky to me, under the circumstances. Then again, people who end up in the witness protection program probably arent exactly risk averse. Some guy shows up at a motel room or in a studio for an interview - how much can you know to give up? The only way it would work is if they get to the interview site before the interview starts to grab the interviewee. They would have to know well in advance that the person is being interviewed and who is going to interview him so you could grab the interviewer and torture out the location the interview is going to happen at so you could get there to grab the interviewee, at which point the whole thing is in an uproar because the interviewer has vanished. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/44 "2012-02-09T15:12:21Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > And the prosecutor could have you make a video deposition under oath right away. That could be used in court later, even if you are ‘hit’ in the meantime. It will likely influence the jury, probably even more so if you were rubbed out by the mob in the meantime. So as soon as you make a deposition the value to the mob of killing you goes way down. Not really, no. Such testimony is hearsay: an out of court statement, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matters asserted in the statements. It’s generally inadmissible, except if is offered against a party who had an opportunity and motive to develop it by direct, cross-, or redirect examination. In other words, the prosecutor alone can’t plop you down in front of a camera and get you to tell your story. The deposition would have to include the accused and his counsel, who would have a chance to object to questions asked of you and ask you their own questions. It might be admissible without the cross-examination if the accused wrongfully caused the death of the witness intending to prevent his testimony, but that’s a matter that would have to be proved first – that is, you can’t just say, “Hey, my witness is dead, and he made this tape.” You have to be able to prove that the accused wrongfully caused (“or acquiesced in wrongfully causing”) the witness’ death. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/45 "2012-02-09T15:28:17Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Details on the program[from the source: the US Marshall’s Service](http://www.usmarshals.gov/witsec/index.html)… > [@robert\_columbia](#): > > …US Marshall: “Mr. Doe, as part of your witness protection program, we are sending you to auto mechanics school to learn your new career”… Nitpick: It’s the U.S. Marshals Service. One “l,” no apostrophe. > **[Home](https://www.usmarshals.gov/)** > > The U.S. Marshals Service was the first federal law enforcement agency in the United States to protect the federal judiciary and apprehend federal fugitives ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/46 "2012-02-09T15:42:12Z")
> [@T.Slothrop](#): > > Did you take your Calphalon with you when you fled to Canada ? I have read above (Sally Mander) that it is very important to take your Calphalon with you when you enter the witness protection program. All I took was a truck and a kukri. Maybe I need to get me some calphalon under an assumed name, like Mick “The Skillet” Murphy, or Jimmy “Slow Cooker” Monteverde. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/47 "2012-02-09T15:43:11Z")
> [@AndyLee](#): > > I listend to a podcast by Josh and Chuck form How Stuff [Works.Com](http://Works.Com) and they talked about this for the whole podcast. > > First of all while you get a new identity, it’s not a get out of jail free card. All your debt and social security earned simply transfer over to the new number. So if you owe Bank of America under the old social security number, you owe them under the new one. > > … > > Here’s a link to the HSW website > > [http://www.howstuffworks.com/witness-protection.htm](http://www.howstuffworks.com/witness-protection.htm) Maybe the info about debts was mentioned on the podcast, but I did not see anything about it on the website. And it sounds very suspicious. It is one thing for local law enforcement to make deals with local employers, saying something like, “We got a guy in witness protection; could you hire him?” - because there is no clue to the old identity. But it is very difficult for me to imagine that something similar could be done to the bank records without leaving a trail to the old account. My guess is that the gov’t either pays off the debt (as long as it isn’t too high) or simply doesn’t care about it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/48 "2012-02-09T15:45:29Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Years ago, I read an article about Winess Protection in the Washington Post, one of the people they had talked to was a non-criminal who had gone into the program He found out his place of work was a mob front and he went to the authorities and later testified, he complained that he was constantly being treated like a criminal by the Marshals although he had taken risks to do the right thing. I heard this complaint before. Apparently the Marshals are used to dealing with criminals, trying to keep them out of trouble, and treating them with contempt. When innocent parties enter the program they tend to get treated the same way. It’s a common complaint about all fields of law enforcement, that officers begin to think of everyone as a criminal. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/49 "2012-02-09T15:51:20Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > I recently watched a documentary on the murder of the Israeli athletes at the 1976 Munich Olympics. One of the killers (a Palestinian now living undercover) was interviewed–muffled/distorted voice and black silohette of some guy with a hat on and a beard… This whole thread reminds me of the _Far Side_ cartoon with an anchorman in the foreground talking about how they’re interviewing a mob witness while concealing his identity – behind him is a window showing a clear view of a surprised-looking guy and a janitor walking in through the door and flicking on a light switch. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/50 "2012-02-09T16:44:16Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Maybe the info about debts was mentioned on the podcast, but I did not see anything about it on the website. It’s under [4.Falling Off the Face of the Earth](http://people.howstuffworks.com/witness-protection3.htm), in the aside. It says debts must be paid before entering protection. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/51 "2012-02-09T17:39:03Z")
I missed that sidebar. I thought it was an advertisement. Thanks. So now I gotta wonder… If someone’s debts are way more than his assets, then he can’t get into the program? How sad… ---
**Author:** ![mellow\_dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6bbea6/32.png) [@mellow\_dragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mellow_dragon)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879/52 "2012-03-18T01:35:43Z")
I know this thread has been dead for over a month, so I hope people are still reading this. If happens if someone is in WPP, has felonies, and decides to become a doctor or a peace officer. How would background checks work for professions like those? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-witness-protection-work/597879.md?page=2)