In Britain, the police have a very good record of protecting their witnesses, although some have claimed that, once the evidence has been given, they are treated with less care and respect.
But witness protection does not guarantee safety. In 1999, the IRA witness Martin McGartland survived an attempt on his life after being shot six times in the stomach while living under an assumed identity in Whitley Bay.
More recently, in 2006, the issue came up in court in the wake of the case of Giles van Colle, who was killed by a man against whom he was due to give evidence. A court awarded nearly US$100,000 in damages to his family after the judge ruled that the police had failed in their duty to protect him.
The numbers of witnesses in the UK who need protection grows every year - probably because of the increase in gang-related and organized crime. While it is relatively easy for an individual to disappear without trace, the way they can most easily be found is through family members. Sometimes family members are moved, too - but police have to weigh up the risks: how many members of an extended family can be given a new identity, and how many of them will be able to keep their mouths shut?
Although giving evidence in these circumstances is terrifying, the truth is that most witnesses and informants are not pursued by the people against whom they have given evidence. Professional criminals might like the satisfaction of exacting vengeance but they also know that any action they took would place them at a far greater risk than they already were and would probably ensure that they spend the rest of their life in jail. But this can be little comfort to Hogg, as she starts her new life today.
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