Jul 28, 2008 By Steve Ferris 4 min read

Crime victims, victims’ families, neighbors of victims and prison inmates or anyone else concerned about an inmate in the Greene County Prison may now register to be alerted when a prisoner is going to be set free through a new automated statewide system. Greene County is among 34 of the 63 counties in the state that have their own prisons enrolled in the Pennsylvania Statewide Victim Information and Notification (PA SAVIN) system.

SAVIN is a joint project of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute (PDAI) and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).

Pennsylvania is one of 13 states to receive funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance to operate a statewide program.

Greene County District Attorney Marjorie Fox will announced the official launch of SAVIN at a press conference in the second floor conference room of the County Office Building on High Street on Thursday at noon. Victim services, law enforcement, corrections and other county representatives will join Fox at the conference.

“I definitely think it’s a good program,” Fox said. “Someone who is concerned about someone being released from jail is notified.”

The automated network enables residents to receive real-time information about the custody status of offenders.

They can register to be notified of an offender’s release, transfer, or escape from a county or state facility either by telephone or e-mail, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Users can call 1-866-972-7284 toll free for live, operator assistance or log on to www.pacrimevictims.state.pa.us.

Telephone operators assist victims who need help obtaining offender information or registering for notification.

Technical support professionals monitor and maintain the network to ensure reliability and availability of this free service, Fox said.

“As a district attorney, I have been dedicated to providing victims of crime with better recognition, information, and support,” said Fox. “My office is proud to be part of this collaborative effort with the PDAI, the state, local victim service providers, our jail personnel, and law enforcement to provide victims, their families and our communities an important empowerment tool in the fight against crime.”

People also can change their contact information if they move, she said.

“The registrant will get phone calls as often as every 15 minutes for up to 72 hours,” said Greene County Victim/Witness Coordinator Cherie Rumskey.

“That phone call is made every 15 minutes until the registrant is notified.”

If the phone calls don’t reach the intended person, the company that operates the system will send a letter.

“It’s kind of a fail-safe system,” Rumskey said.

The county-based SAVIN system complements an existing system operated by the state Victim Advocate Office that provides notification to crime victims regarding offenders in the state Department of Corrections and the state Board of Probation and Parole.

“This program will allow victims, survivors, family members, and concerned citizens to be notified about an offender’s release. It will be an invaluable resource for our community. I am proud to say that Greene County will be served by SAVIN,” Rumskey said.

PDAI and PCCD selected Appriss Inc., a Kentucky-based technology company, to implement the SAVIN service.

Appriss launched the first victim notification service in 1994 following the murder of a 21-year-old woman who was shot by a violent ex-boyfriend who was released from prison on rape charges without her knowledge.

The victim notification service is currently available in more than 2,000 communities in 41 states.

Appriss uses VINELink to operate the online registration and notification system.

Before the system was recently implemented, Rumskey and Greene County Prison Warden Harry Gillispie worked together to notify victims when people who committed crimes against them were going to be released from prison.

Rumskey said the prison would call her about an inmate release and she would call the victim after her workday and on weekends, and that system worked.

However, only victims were notified. The SAVIN system allows anyone in the community to receive notification, she said.

“I couldn’t make calls every 15 minutes. Hopefully no one slips through the cracks,” Rumskey said.