System notifies crime victims when offender released

By Mary Grzebieniak

The system will notify victims within 15 minutes of the prisoner’s release.

MERCER, Pa. — A new system launched last week notifies crime victims when the offender who victimized them has left the Mercer County Jail.

State and local officials unveiled SAVIN, the Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification system, last week at the Mercer County Agricultural Extension Offices here. The program is jointly sponsored by the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency.

Officials said victims will be notified within 15 minutes of the prisoner’s release, transfer or furlough from the county jail and sometimes before the offender has actually left.

Until implementation of SAVIN, victims who requested such notice received a phone call from the jail, followed by a letter if the phone call was not answered.

The new system provides repeated calls for those not answering the initial call and options for notice to multiple phone numbers and for teletypewriter calls to the deaf and also for e-mail notification.

Notification is not limited to crime victims. Any member of the public can check to see if an individual is in the county jail.

District Attorney Bob Kochems said that SAVIN “brings us into the next generation of victim services in the county.” He noted that Pennsylvania is looking for money to extend SAVIN into the state prison system, which has a different type of victim-notification system.

Jail Warden Jeff Gill said the state paid for the equipment necessary to implement the system here as well as the first year of operation. Funding will gradually drop over the next four years until the county picks up the entire tab in five years. The program at that point would cost the county $5,000 to $6,000 annually, he said.

Mercer is the 41st Pennsylvania county to adopt the system. Andrea Warner, SAVIN project manager, said Lawrence and Beaver are in the process of implementation.

To access the SAVIN system, call 1 (886) 972-7284 from a touch-tone phone and follow the directions. Teletypewriter users can call 1 (866) 847-1298, and an operator will assist them.

To sign up to receive e-mail notification, log onto www.pacrimevictims.state.pa.us .