Former Attorney General Phil Perinchief fears witnesses sent to other islands for their own safety could be too easily tracked down.

Mr. Perinchief questioned why the Justice Protection Act states only five Caribbean islands, including Montserrat, which has a population of less than 6,000, are included in the proposed justice protection programme.

He said he supports the idea of sending vulnerable people away before trials, a concept first developed while he was AG, but warned witnesses might not feel completely safe under the bill tabled last week.

The act also allows for witnesses to be given new identities to start a new life in Montserrat, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos; however Attorney General Kim Wilson says this will only happen in extreme cases, if ever.

Usually, witnesses would be sent away ahead of the trial, giving evidence via videolink, before returning when the offender has been found guilty.

Mr. Perinchief said last night: "In principle I think the protection programme is a good thing, but I have noticed it seems to include a far smaller geographical area than when the subject was first broached. The British Virgin Islands, Montserrat: these are very, very small places. If you get new people into those small populations, people may readily notice that they have arrived. That's not a lot of protection."

Mr. Perinchief said other parts of the Commonwealth were being considered as temporary safe places when talks of a justice protection programme got under way three years ago.

At a justice conference at Elbow Beach in 2007, the UK was named as one option. Even at that stage, prosecutors were struggling to get witnesses to come forward; since then there has been an unprecedented spiral of gang violence.

"It's very much more serious now," said Mr. Perinchief of the need for witness protection. "We had the early signs of things getting worse when we could not get witnesses to come forward. Now, they are not only threatened, the threats are carried out."

Meanwhile yesterday, Sen. Wilson said people shouldn't expect the new legislation to pave the way for people to be given new identities as seen on popular TV shows.

Sen. Wilson said she didn't believe witnesses would want to pursue the option of getting a new identity unless absolutely necessary — and neither could Government afford it.

"Most people want to stay at home," she said. "They all recognise that once the offender has been tried and convicted the risk to the witness is diminished.

"Clearly, we don't have the type of finances to send people overseas just because they want a new life. What we see on the TV, where people start a new life under a false identity, that's so extreme. It's not envisioned that will be the case. It would only be the worst case scenario."

She said Police are now having more success with witnesses coming forward. "Now Bermudians are taking a stance," she said. "They are saying, I have had enough, I refuse to be living under these circumstances."

Acting Governor David Arkley would not comment in detail while the legislation remains before the House of Assembly, but he said yesterday: "As has been shown in recent cases witnesses are prepared to come forward, testify and help achieve successful prosecutions.

"Witness support, at some level, is an important part of this process for all witnesses. Support can, as is currently being done, come in much less dramatic form than relocation to another country. The Ministry of Justice and Director of Public Prosecutions' office already do an excellent job in helping and supporting witnesses.

"Any initiative that provides additional options in this area can only serve to enhance witness confidence in the criminal justice system."

It's believed a similar model to the Justice Protection Act will be adopted by a number of overseas territories.