# How safe am I in the Witness Protection Program? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 31, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769 "2008-01-31T21:03:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/1 "2008-01-31T21:03:12Z")
How safe would I feel in the WPP? How many people that work for the WPP have access to the relocation records? If I had a mob bounty on my head, I don’t think I would feel safe at all. I mean it is fine moving me to Arkansas and changing my name etc. but if someone at the WPP is a little careless or gets into a gambling debt, couldn’t that info find its way into the possession of Johnny Icepick and his minions? ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/2 "2008-01-31T21:19:17Z")
From what I’ve read, most of the problems with the WPP are caused by the participants. It isn’t that easy to ditch all your old habits and acquaintances. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/3 "2008-01-31T21:22:13Z")
> [@](#): > > No program participant who follows security guidelines has ever been harmed while under the active protection of the Marshals Service. [http://www.usmarshals.gov/witsec/index.html](http://www.usmarshals.gov/witsec/index.html) This is interesting: [Start Snitching: Inside the Witness Protection Program - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=3781361&page=1) and see, [http://people.howstuffworks.com/witness-protection1.htm](http://people.howstuffworks.com/witness-protection1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/4 "2008-01-31T21:23:45Z")
According to the WPP, no person who enters the program _and follows the rules_ has ever been harmed. The ones that end up getting whacked are those who refuse to sever all contact with their former nefarious scofflaws or the old neighborhood in general. There’s a great [HowStuffWorks article](http://people.howstuffworks.com/witness-protection.htm) that goes into some detail on the program: > [@HowStuffWorks](#): > > The most important rule of the program is that witnesses must not make contact with former associates or unprotected family members. They also must not return to the town from which they were relocated. According to the Marshals Service, no witness who has followed these rules has ever been killed. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/5 "2008-01-31T21:26:41Z")
If you cannot leave your previous life behind — and that means all of your previous life — you will be the problem that may very get you killed. > [@](#): > > The most important rule of the program is that witnesses must not make contact with former associates or unprotected family members. They also must not return to the town from which they were relocated. **According to the Marshals Service, no witness who has followed these rules has ever been killed.** Source: [http://people.howstuffworks.com/witness-protection5.htm](http://people.howstuffworks.com/witness-protection5.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/6 "2008-01-31T21:27:34Z")
> [@](#): > > According to the Marshals Service, no witness who has followed these rules has ever been killed. The Witness Protection Plan confers immortality? How do I get in on this deal? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/7 "2008-01-31T21:37:23Z")
[QUOTE=Rysto] The Witness Protection Plan confers immortality? How do I get in on this deal? 😃 [/QUOTE] Killed, not died. Boredom is the biggest killer, I hear. ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/8 "2008-01-31T23:04:10Z")
And for an object lesson of what happens when you don’t follow the rules, see this [Philadelphia Inquirer](http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/13965721.html) story: > [@](#): > > “The system worked. Well, it would have worked - if she had followed the rules,” said a source close to the case. “She’s a nice girl who made a bad decision to come back to the neighborhood. Did it get her killed? Probably.” ---
**Author:** ![SamuelP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@SamuelP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelP)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/9 "2008-01-31T23:25:22Z")
And if you’re talking about the mob as it is today, well, you wouldn’t have much to worry about _without_ the WPP. They haven’t been scary for 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/10 "2008-01-31T23:30:01Z")
From the Philidelphia Inquirer story: > [@](#): > > Wright, 23, was killed in Philadelphia early Saturday, seven hours after she arrived from Florida to visit a gravely ill grandmother, on a trip home that authorities had strongly discouraged and that they now suspect led to her death. Leaving your old life behind is not as simple as it sounds. If your grandmother was on her deathbed, would you refuse to visit her? Would you be willing to skip her funeral, without even sending a card? Maxim magazine had an article a few years ago about a guy who was in the WPP. It sounded like a very lonely, miserable life. He talked about spending Christmas alone in his apartment, with the only present he had being one he’d bought for himself. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/11 "2008-01-31T23:41:09Z")
[QUOTE=MrFloppy] How safe am I in the Witness Protection Program? [/QUOTE] Not as safe as you were before you posted this … ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/12 "2008-01-31T23:42:19Z")
[QUOTE=Diceman] From the Philidelphia Inquirer story: Leaving your old life behind is not as simple as it sounds. If your grandmother was on her deathbed, would you refuse to visit her? Would you be willing to skip her funeral, without even sending a card? Maxim magazine had an article a few years ago about a guy who was in the WPP. It sounded like a very lonely, miserable life. He talked about spending Christmas alone in his apartment, with the only present he had being one he’d bought for himself. [/QUOTE] I find that a bunch of BS. sure you would have to forget about people but who says you cant meet new people and make new friends? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/13 "2008-01-31T23:57:28Z")
The old time Sicilian mafia isn’t what it used to be. Look at Henry Hill, wandering around LA and Las Vegas openly, and he hasn’t been whacked yet. If anyone really wanted to get him, it would be simple. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/14 "2008-01-31T23:59:46Z")
Not to be a threadshitter, but do you think that the US Marshals would admit it if they lost a witness? Of course whatever happened was the witness’s fault. Admitting otherwise would interfere with the primary goal of the system, which is to obtain testimony aginst whoever they decided was a bigger fish. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/15 "2008-02-01T09:10:26Z")
[QUOTE=ChrisBooth12] I find that a bunch of BS. sure you would have to forget about people but who says you cant meet new people and make new friends? [/QUOTE] Well, if I were in the witness protection program, I’d probably be pretty paranoid about meeting new people. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/16 "2008-02-01T09:26:51Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > I find that a bunch of BS. sure you would have to forget about people but who says you cant meet new people and make new friends? It would be a little suspicious to go asking around for Christmases to hit up every year, wouldn’t it? Don’t they give the witnesses background stories to tell their new acquaintances? “I moved here to be closer to my family” starts sounding a little weird when you’re begging to be let in on someone’s Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas morning a few months later. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/17 "2008-02-01T09:29:46Z")
The Washington Post ran a feature a few years ago about the WPP. A lot of people in it aren’t criminals. They interviewed one guy who dropped out of it who worked for what he thought was a legit business and when he found out it was a mob front, he testified against his bosses. He dropped out of the program partly because he felt like he was always treated like a criminal by the marshal service and not like a citizen who had done the right thing. ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/18 "2008-02-01T16:07:40Z")
[QUOTE=Askance] Not as safe as you were before you posted this … [/QUOTE] you bamn dastard!! I was coming in here to post exactly that!! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/19 "2008-02-01T16:47:11Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] It would be a little suspicious to go asking around for Christmases to hit up every year, wouldn’t it? Don’t they give the witnesses background stories to tell their new acquaintances? “I moved here to be closer to my family” starts sounding a little weird when you’re begging to be let in on someone’s Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas morning a few months later. [/QUOTE] But that cover story wouldn’t make sense would it? I think a more typical cover story would be “My parents are both dead and I moved here to get away from the memories.” or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769/20 "2008-02-01T17:20:30Z")
I’m not sure my question has been answered though. How many people have access to the relocation records. Are these records held in Fort Knox 🙂 or some other secure location? Maybe I’ve wached too much Sopranos and Goodfellas but the bad guys always have their ‘connections’ in the local PD. I’m especially amazed that the PD in the ‘relocation location’ are told about their new neighbor. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-safe-am-i-in-the-witness-protection-program/435769.md?page=2)