Oklahoma City, OK - Proclaiming that public safety is an issue for all of Oklahoma, Attorney General Drew Edmondson today unveiled plans for a statewide criminal tracking and victim notification system and said his office has secured more than $1 million in federal grant money to bring the program to Oklahoma.
Edmondson said his office is implementing a criminal tracking system that will allow all Oklahomans to track the custody status of any offender in the state’s criminal justice system. From booking to release, the Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) program makes information about inmates housed in county jails or state prisons available at no cost to Oklahomans who register with the system. Users can access the information on the phone or over the Internet.
“We will place computer terminals in every county jail and at the Department of Corrections (DOC) to create a web of information that covers the entire state,” Edmondson said. “When an offender is arrested and booked, that information will be input at the local level. Concerned Oklahomans can then register at no cost with the VINE system and keep track of the offender’s every move. This is a near real time system.”
Registered users have 24-hour access to the information and can register to receive automatic telephone notifications of any change in an offender’s custody status.
“This system will track offenders and notify registered users of any change, including posting bond, transfer or escape,” Edmondson said. “The VINE criminal tracking and victim notification system provides information that can help keep Oklahomans safe.”
The attorney general said all Oklahomans will benefit from this criminal tracking and victim notification system.
“It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, male or female, urban or rural,” Edmondson said. “Safety is an issue for all of Oklahoma and for every Oklahoman.”
According to the attorney general, DOC and four counties will come on line in about 90 days. The remaining counties will be rolled out on a county-by-county basis. Edmondson estimates it will take about two years to integrate the VINE criminal tracking system in all 77 county sheriff offices.
“The bulk of Oklahoma prisoners are in DOC custody so it’s important we bring that agency on line first,” Edmondson said. “This will cover the largest population of Oklahoma inmates on a statewide basis. We plan for Oklahoma, Cleveland, Tulsa and Comanche Counties to be the first counties in the system.”
Edmondson said his office has received a $1.2 million Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to fund the costs of start up and two years operation. Once the federal monies are gone, his office will then seek an additional state appropriation to fund the program. He estimates the yearly costs to be about $450,000. The program is provided without cost to the law enforcement agencies who use the system.
Authority for creating the system was signed into law as part of the Caitlin Wooten Act, authored by Senator Susan Paddack and Rep. Wes Hilliard.
“Caitlin’s Law came about after the murder of young Caitlin Wooten in Ada,” Paddack said. “Jerry Don Savage, who had just been released from jail for holding Caitlin’s mother at gunpoint, kidnaped and murdered Caitlin. This legislation comes too late to help Caitlin, but it can and will make a difference for other Oklahomans.”
“One of the most beneficial aspects of this criminal tracking system is that it will allow crime victims to take a proactive approach to their safety,” said Hilliard. “VINE gives victims a resource of information they’ve not had before. I expect this program to save lives.”
Senator Todd Lamb, a former United States Secret Service agent, aided Edmondson’s office in the federal granting process.
“This program will benefit all Oklahomans, especially victims of crime,” Lamb said. “The federal grant funds will get the program off the ground at no cost to the state. This is a wise use of resources and a wise investment for public safety.”
Edmondson said the VINE system is in use statewide in 19 states. Ten more, including Oklahoma, just received the grant money to implement the system. VINE is in use in some form in 40 states, and the federal government uses the program nationwide.
Currently in Oklahoma, only the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office uses the system and it covers only Tulsa County inmates. The Tulsa County system will be incorporated into the statewide system as will the costs currently paid by Tulsa County.