ABOUT VINE

In December 1993, a murder took place in Louisville, Kentucky that forever changed the way crime victims are notified when an offender is released from jail. It was Mary Byron's 21st birthday. She was leaving her job, after dark, and she did not know her former boyfriend had been released from jail earlier that day. He was facing trial on charges of kidnapping and raping Byron. He waited in the parking lot and as she got in her car, he shot her six times at point blank range. Byron had no way of knowing she was ever in danger. Because of the efforts of Mary Byron's family and others, the first-ever automated system to notify victims of a criminal's status - now known as VINE - was created.

The below link is to New York VINE, an online portal to VINE, "America’s number one victim notification network. VINE has been providing victims and concerned citizens with the power of information for decades, allowing these individuals to have the sense of security that they deserve. VINELink can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide the most reliable information for custody status changes and criminal case information. The VINE service provides information by phone, email, TTY, and text message where available." It is also available in Spanish.

See https://vinelink.com/#/home/site/33004 or http://www.doccs.ny.gov/vine.html