Random Odd Rules People In The Witness Protection Program Have To Follow (13 items)

(#10) Participants Can't Contact Anyone From Their Past Lives

This rule might seem obvious, but its consequences are more far-reaching than you might imagine. One of the central tenets of the program is that witnesses cannot make any contact with people from their past lives.

The rule doesn’t just apply to the witness, but to anyone else who is enrolled in the program. That means children and spouses also have to abandon everybody they have ever known.
(#6) Participants Can Bring Their Mistresses

Generally, marshals will only relocate and give new identities to witnesses' spouses and children. However, in exceptional circumstances, the regulations allow for larger groups to be protected. In the past, this has included parents, siblings, cousins, and even mistresses.
(#12) Witnesses Can Leave At Any Time

It might seem odd, considering all of the effort that is put into protecting those who are part of the program, but it is possible for witnesses to leave at any time they wish. The Marshal Service has no power to force people to remain part of the witness protection program.

The few individuals who do leave might not be safe, though, and some have even been murdered upon returning home.
(#1) Witnesses Have To Participate In Mandatory Training In A Bomb Shelter

After US Marshals pick up witnesses at their homes - and oftentimes their families as well - they are taken to a secret safe house somewhere in Washington DC. However, this isn't just some random undisclosed building, it also has to be able to securely hold up to six families and must be able to withstand potential bomb threats to ensure the safety of newly admitted witnesses.
(#8) Witnesses Don't Get Entirely New Names

Most of the time, marshals will suggest that witnesses under protection don’t change their full names. Instead, they're usually be allowed to keep their first name and often even their initials.
Although this might seem counter-productive, it's done for a very good reason. Keeping some part of their old names helps people get used to their new identities, and also ensures they don't don’t slip up and react to their old name if it's said out loud.
(#13) If Someone From The Past Shows Up, Witnesses Have To Ignore Them

What happens if someone in witness protection serendipitously runs into their child's old kindergarten teacher, or a college classmate? Well, they better have their best poker face ready, because if they're unable to run away fast enough after hearing their old name called out to them, they'll have to find a way to convince this person that they're mistaken without showing the terror they feel at hearing their old name again.