Will County Sheriff Brendan Ward on Tuesday proposed an automated telephone system intended to send crime victims the kind of message that can be the worst possible news.
It notifies the victims that the person accused or convicted of a crime against them is back on the street.
Based on the theory that a crime victim is better off knowing of a potential threat, the system tied to computers in the Will County Jail could be operating by the end of the year, making Will the second Illinois county to launch the program. DuPage County adopted it last month and expects to have it running in about three months.
“It bridges the gap between crime victims and the criminal justice system,” Ward said after winning approval for the system from the Will County Board’s Finance Committee. The proposal is expected to go to the full board this month.
Called VINE–for the Victim Information and Notification Everyday–the system allows crime victims to register by phone to receive automatic notices when an inmate is released.
The notice, in both English and Spanish, comes through a computer-driven phone call repeated every 30 minutes for 24 hours or until the victim acknowledges having received it.
“Sometimes the only peace of mind a crime victim has is the knowledge that the offender is in jail,” Ward said. “This ensures that an offender’s release is known to the victim so he or she can take appropriate steps to help protect themselves. Maybe it would be a matter of being extra careful, or a person who lives alone may decide to stay with a relative for a while.”
The program’s approximate cost of $30,000 in the first year is based on the number of jail inmates and would be financed by a surcharge on phone calls by inmates. The county gets $200,000 to $300,000 a year from a 40 percent rebate from the phone company on collect calls made by inmates from the jail.
“I can’t think of a better way to finance this program than from the calls made by the people who are incarcerated,” Ward said.
Pioneered in Jefferson County, Ky., in 1994, the VINE program was developed by Interactive Systems Inc., a Louisville firm founded in 1992. More than 10,000 people have signed up to get notice of inmate releases since the program began, officials said.
It was triggered at least in part by the fatal shooting in Louisville of a 21-year-old rape victim by her alleged assailant hours after he had been freed on bond. The woman had been unaware of his release.
