Witness intimidation has grown so prevalent in Baltimore that 163 people scheduled to testify in criminal trials have sought law-enforcement protection in first half of the year, new figures show.
The witnesses have either testified or been scheduled to do so in violent crime cases, the Baltimore City state’s attorney’soffice says.
The number of witnesses seeking protection continues to grow as violent crime increases in a city that has had 178 murders this year, up from 149 a year ago.
“The referrals are up, and the number of people seeking assistance are up too compared to last year,” said Joseph Sviatko, spokesman for city State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy. “There is an increasing demand for services.”
But even with a rising homicide rate, Sviatko said money is tight as prosecutors fund expensive reallocations — 20 have been moved this year.
“The vast majority of our money is used to physically relocate someone forever, or temporarily put them into a safe house,” he said.
Mayor Sheila Dixon’s administration increased funding for the witness-assistance program in 2008 from $300,000 to $500,000.
And U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., re-introduced a bill seeking money to fund federal marshals to assist with witness protection.
“We can spend $780 billion in Iraq, but we can’t protect our own citizens,” Cummings said.
Cummings’ bill would allocate $80 million dollars for cities averaging more than 100 homicides a year for the past five years. The bill is in committee.
Some victims of witness intimidation tell chilling stories.
A sister of a witness seeking protection — a 15-year-old boy recovering from multiple gun shot wounds — told The Examiner she is being harassed and fears for her bother’s life.
“The girlfriend of one of the killers keeps calling us [saying] they are going to shoot my bother,” said the woman, 27.
“I told the prosecutor that if my brother’s going to be a witness, then we need to get out of this house,” she said. “I’m scared, very scared.”
