The public can now find out about the status of any inmate in the state through the State-wide Automated Victim Information and Notification system, free to the public at the push of a button.

“You can track in county inmate in the state,” said Gary Cordell of the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association. “It was set up for domestic violence victims but anyone can use it.”

He explained that once the offender is booked into a jail anywhere in the state, you can go to www.vinelink.com or call 1-888-868-4631 (TTY: 1-866-847-1298) and register for updates. You can also use your Mobile Patrol app which is linked to the data base. Mobile Patrol can be found for Android or Apple phones and is free to download from your app store.

“It’s plugged in to our 95 DeKalb County jails,” Cordell noted. “In real time you can go in and pull up an inmate.”

Along with showing what they are locked up for, Mobile Patrol will give you the option of getting notified if there is a status change on the particular inmate. “Say you’re a victim of domestic assault or the person has assaulted you, all you have to do is touch the blue bar (on the app) and press how you want to be notified when the inmate has a status change,” Cordell said. “Say the person bonds out, you will be notified before they walk out the door. If they transfer to another facility or they escape, you will be notified. If the inmate passes away while in custody, you will be notified. It’s a safety net for crime victims.”

The app works in English or Spanish. The user will be prompted to enter a four digit personal identification number once you select whether you want notification by phone, text, e-mail or all three.

“You can go to any of the counties in Tennessee,” he pointed out, adding the mere fact they were able to get all 95 sheriff’s to link together is a near miracle in itself. “Getting 95 sheriffs to agree on one thing, it’s worse that herding cats.”

Sheriff Patrick Ray is on the SAVIN Board for the sheriff’s association. The sheriff pointed out that Tennessee is a model for other states in the area of victim notification.

“If anyone needs any pamphlets or cards, they are welcome to come by the sheriff’s department,” Sheriff Ray said of getting the word out about the valuable SAVIN resource.