Fewer than 25% witness intimidation convictions

A conviction has only been secured in less than a quarter of the more than 300 cases of witness and juror intimidation in which proceedings were initiated over the last 10 years.

The intimidation of a witness or juror is an offence under Section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act. It specifies the offence as “harming, threatening or menacing or in an other way intimidating or putting in fear another person who is assisting in the investigation of an offence by the Garda Síochána, with the intention of causing the investigation or course of justice to be obstructed, perverted or interfered with”.

The offence is punishable on indictment by a fine or up to 15 years in jail.