Witness protection is of the utmost

| Tuesday February 18, 2014 14:07

In common use in other countries, this device is a one-way tinted glass so that suspects cannot see their accusers in situations where eye contact can be an unnerving experience for victims. The inventors of the glass had one thing in mind, and that was that coming face to face with suspects -some of them charged with heinous crimes - could put victims or witnesses in more danger.  Society had learnt from ample experience, as many had been followed with deadly effect in order that the evidence against the alleged felon was eliminated. Many criminals  - hardened recidivists, some of them – thought nothing of zapping witnesses, or arranging for such a ghastly purpose, in order to secure their underserved freedom.  This is secondary victimisation on survivors who have to come face to face with their vicious attackers, in many instances rapists and armed robbers.

Other than the real and present prospect of physical harm and death, bringing a victim of serious crimes into close proximity with the perpetrator has great potential to trigger complicated emotions that can be difficult to reverse.  But what is worse is that altogether the absence of such a partition has the deleterious effect on justice by discouraging members of the public from coming forward as witnesses. At any rate, who wants to be eyeball to eyeball with the hardboiled face of an outlaw? An added advantage of the identification parade suite is that the police can study the demeanour of the suspect safely behind the tinted glass. Very clearly then, the absence of this device can only compromise evidence that must be presented before the courts without fear or favour. 

We therefore call on the Botswana Police Service to urgently address this omission and put the safety of victims and witnesses first.  Witnesses and victims - in 21st Century Botswana – should not have to live in fear that they will be followed to their homes. Hence we find it strange that the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes (DCEC), which investigates serious, often white-collar crimes, does have such an interrogation room. Without sounding like advocates of a police state, we find it strange too that neither DIS nor and the Botswana Defence Force’s (BDF) MI has such a facility.

With a shocking increase in violent crimes, sexual crimes, home invasions, human trafficking, drug trafficking and all manner of white-collar crime, we hope that those responsible will move with speed to correct this glaring anomaly. In a nutshell, we ask the police to do everything in their power to protect witnesses and victims from further harm. This is because contact between victims and suspects can be deadly.

                                                                                Today's thought

                           'Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them'.

 

                                                                               – Samuel Butler