How tech protects victims by monitoring inmates

The Victim Information Notification Everyday (VINE) system grew from tragedy. In 1993, Mary Byron was killed by an ex-boyfriend after he was released from jail. She hadn’t been notified that he had been released.

“Somebody promised her that they’d make a phone call, and that person let it slip,” says Travis Ackert, manager of infrastructure services for Appriss, makers of VINE. “From that event, we identified that the ability to notify people when criminals were being released from jail could be handled by computers and automated to eliminate human mistakes from the situation.”

VINE now automates the notification process when inmates are released. The system is used in 47 states and tracks more than two million inmates. It also lets petitioners track their restraining or protective orders and register to be notified of status changes.

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