Notification service is now available for inmate moves
The Aiken County detention center is one of 23 jails and work camps across the state linked into the Statewide Victim Information and Notification (SAVIN) service.
More than half of county detention centers are tied into the service.
The SAVIN service allows users to confirm that an offender is in jail or prison and be notified anytime a prisoner is released or transferred from one facility to another.
Crime victims and the general public can register to receive notifications automatically by phone and e-mail when an inmate has been moved.
"This system will assist in providing victims of crime more control over how and when they receive vital information regarding their offender's custody status," said Stephanie Cassavaugh, SAVIN program manager. "Knowing that they will receive a call automatically when an offender is being released from jail or prison can help a crime victim feel more in control and plan for their own safety."
Aiken Public Safety's Law Enforcement Victim Advocate Kimberly Corley said victims routinely ask the type of questions SAVIN can provide the answers to, adding that many of the victims she works with don't have personal computers and need the phone call notification services.
The service will call the victim until there has been confirmation that the call has been received.
"They enter a PIN (personal identification number)," she said.
The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in both English and Spanish, said Josh Gelinas, communications director for the South Carolina Department of Corrections
As of June 8, nearly 1,500 people have called 1-866-SC-SAVIN, and 35,324 hits have been made to the www.vinelink.com website where residents can sign up for the service.
More than 2,400 residents have registered for automated notification, and nearly 31,000 automated phone calls have been made, Gelinas said.
South Carolina SAVIN was made possible by a grant from the Federal Bureau of Justice Assistance. Its automated victim information and notification system has been operating successfully since 2001, Gelinas added.
Full implementation of the SAVIN service is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2009 and will also include county facilities and the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.
Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.
