Additional Responsibilities of the Board

(1) The Board shall reimburseall approved witness protection expenses incurred by prosecuting officers, subject to appropriation. (2) The Board shall issue guidelines relative to the payment of witness protection expenses, in addition to accounting and reporting requirements for prosecuting officers. (3) At regular intervals to be determined by the Board, the Board shall require the prosecuting officer to certify that: (a) he or she has taken reasonable and appropriate steps to monitor the conduct of the critical witness; (b) to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, the critical witness is in compliance with the terms of the memorandum of understanding, or that any breach of the memorandum of understanding has been or is now being reported to the Board. (4) All records of the Board, whether generated by the Board or received from a prosecuting officer, related to witness protection services shall be stored in a secure location established by the Secretary of Public Safety. This secure location shall be accessible only to the Secretary of Public Safety, his or her designee, and any other person whose access is determined by the Secretary of Public Safety to be essential to the successful operation of the witness protection program. Computer files and programs used by the Board containing information related to a critical witness will be protected by appropriate security procedures. Each Board member and prosecuting officer shall develop similar security procedures for his or her office, to ensure the confidentiality of sensitive law enforcement information and the safety of critical witnesses. Each prosecuting officer shall be required to report his or her security procedures to the Board prior to receiving reimbursement for witness protection services. Any officer or employee of the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions who receives information related to witness protection services shall maintain the confidentiality of the information. (5) The Board shall develop and implement any other necessary policy, rule, or guideline necessary for the successful operation of the witness protection program.