State witness faces eviction after 14 years in safe house

A 62-year-old woman who has spent over 14 years living in a safe house in the Justice Protection Programme says she is being evicted by July 31.

Newsday decided not to name the woman based on her claim that she is still receiving threats from those linked to the case. By even speaking to the media, the woman is breaching the terms of her agreement but she says she is desperate for any help.

She wants those in authority to clarify whether she is still part of the Justice Protection Programme.

The person she gave evidence against is now dead but she claims friends of his co-accused are sending threats to end her life.

The woman entered the programme in 2010 after being robbed at gunpoint. She said she was relocated to a safe house with her two sons, and given a stipend of $4,000 a month.

However, since the suspect was killed some years later, she said there has been a total lack of communication from those associated with the programme.

She claimed she stopped getting a stipend in 2015 and only learnt of the suspect’s death via the news sometime later.

She told Newsday that some weeks after the death, an officer called and told her to go to Port of Spain to sign a document. When she got there, the document said she had to leave the safe house by the end of that day and find somewhere to rent on her own.

“I told him that can’t be. I said they were either supposed to provide somewhere for me to live, or let me know I needed to move out long before.

“I spoke to my brother, who is a police officer, and he told me to talk to an Ombudsman. I did, and then the police had to take statements from me. They told me something like that was never supposed to happen.”

She said she was then told the officer in question would be sent on extended leave.

She added that she has tried to find out several times why her stipend was stopped but to no avail.

“During the pandemic (in 2020), I went and begged one of my neighbours for things. Then they told some other neighbours and they came together and gave us some stuff…I get help from a church sometimes…

“But I can’t take it. I can’t live like this.”

The older of her two sons opted to get a job that earns him $900 a fortnight, which is what the family depends on.

“The State is still paying rent and cutting the lawn here at this house, but I am not getting anything.”

The woman is diabetic, blind in one eye and has heart problems.

“I am just here. It’s just tears; it’s just pain.”

Her younger son is also diabetic and has been unwell for some time, so he has not been able to work. He had two surgeries done in February.

Under the programme, she and her family are not supposed to leave the safe house without permission. But because of the lack of funding, she said they have had no choice.

“And I still get threats, because even though the person died, they were part of a gang. People would see me or my sons and say, ‘You think it done? It ain’t done. Man can’t dead for you.’

“They try to imply that I put a hit out on the man and that’s how he was killed,” she said, in tears.

At the start of the year, she said the homeowner told them she wanted back her property. She added that someone from the Justice Protection Programme contacted her to say she has until July 31 to move out. The officer said rent will be paid for wherever she chooses for six months, but after that, it is up to her to “figure it out."

“The people (accused and friends) mash up my house when this whole thing started, so I can’t move back there…I could barely walk and see, and now they are telling me I have to go and rent. That cannot be. They must provide a place for me.

“Sometimes I think it would be best if I just die because I don’t know what else to do. No one is talking to us, no one is explaining anything to us.”

Section 17 of the Justice Protection Act says participants in the programme can be terminated if they breach the memorandum of understanding, their conduct may compromise the case, the circumstances that led to the need for protection no longer exist, or it is decided there is no “reasonable justification” to continue.

However, it also says if this decision is made, the participant must be informed.

The woman said at this point, she thinks other than death, the best thing to do may be to ask to be moved to another country.

A senior lawyer, who is familiar with similar cases, said the State has a moral obligation to assist until any threats to the witness are abated. He suggested the State continue to provide housing until the woman turns 65 and can access an old age pension which can help her reintegrate into society.

Another lawyer said the witness protection programme is essential to the criminal justice system but noted that it operates in an ad hoc manner.

Both lawyers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, urged the authorities to deal with the woman's complaints to prevent any damage to the trust and confidence of the witness protection programme.

Newsday tried contacting Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher, but calls and messages went unanswered.

Newsday also contacted the police Victim and Witness Support Unit, but representatives there said that the unit only deals with providing psychological aid to affected people. The Justice Protection Programme falls under the ambit of the Ministry of National Security and is run by a colonel of the regiment.

There was no response to a WhatsApp message sent to Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds seeking clarity on the woman's case.

About the Justice Protection Act

5. (5) Action which may be taken by the Administrative Centre to facilitate the safety and security of participants may include the following:

(c) providing payments to or for the participant for the purpose of—

(i) meeting his reasonable living expenses including, where appropriate, living expenses of his family; and

(ii) providing, whether directly or indirectly, other reasonable financial assistance;

(d) providing payments to the participant for the purpose of meeting costs associated with relocation;

(e) providing assistance to the participant in obtaining employment, access to education and health care;

(f) providing other assistance to the participant with a view to ensuring that the participant becomes self-sustaining.

17. (1) Protection or assistance provided under the Justice Protection Programme to a participant—

(a) shall be terminated by the Centre if the participant requests in writing that it be terminated; or

(b) may be terminated by the Centre if—

(iv) the circumstances that gave rise to the need for protection or assistance for the participant, cease to exist;

(vii) there is, in the opinion of the Centre, no reasonable justification for the participant

to remain in the Programme.

(2) Where the Administrative Centre decides under subsection (1)(b) to terminate protection or assistance or both under the Programme, the Centre shall—

(a) take reasonable steps to notify the participant of the decision; and

(b) notify the other approved authorities of the decision.

(3) A participant who receives such a notification may, within 28 days after receiving the notice, apply in writing to the Minister for a review of the decision of the Centre.