Speak out, city urges witnesses

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, January, 2006 | by Natalie Pompilio

In one part of the city's federal complex yesterday, city leaders presented a new initiative - "Step Up, Speak Up" - to encourage witnesses of violent crimes to cooperate with police and prosectors.

In another, jury selection continued in the death-penalty trial of three men accused of murdering a federal witness.

Desperate to stem the problem of witness intimidation, local law enforcement officials are taking new steps to protect those who come forward, including working with the U.S. Justice Department to provide relocation services for witnesses in non-federal cases at no cost to the city.

"We need this to give our people on the front lines one more tool," U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said, noting that Philadelphia is only the second metropolitan area -...