Mercer County officials approve new crime-notification program

MERCER, Pa. — County commissioners have approved a new program that will provide automated notification to crime victims on the escape, apprehension, release or bail of county jail inmates.

The program is called SAVIN, short for Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification.

District Attorney Robert Kochems said that while crime victims receive notification now, SAVIN is a more sophisticated computerized system. The program notifies a victim of a change in the prisoner’s status either by computer or phone message, depending on the victim’s preference.

It also will provide 24-hour online access both to victims and the general public to information about where a prisoner is housed. Kochems said it probably will be installed here in July. It must be in place by September at the latest. The state prison system is expected to go on the same program next year, he said.

There is no cost to the county for the initial program because it is funded with a grant through the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute, which receives the federal funds from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.