(Albany, Wampsville, NY – May 27, 2015) The Executive Board of New York State Sheriffs’ Institute recently appointed Madison County Sheriff Allen Riley to serve as Chairman of The New York State Victim Advisory Board.
Riley’s first official duty as Chairman was to preside over the Ninth Annual New York Statewide
Conference on Victim Notification in Albany April 22. More than 100 professionals attended the conference representing law enforcement, probation, victim advocate groups, and correction facilities from around New York State.
“I am honored to be appointed to this board and work with the fine representatives who work tirelessly for victim rights and services every day in our State,” Riley said “Crime victims need and sometimes want resources and assistance, as well as timely and accurate offender information to proactively ensure their personal safety and that of their families. I applaud the efforts of this Board.”
“Victims have their basic human rights of fairness, dignity, and respect stripped away during a crime,” Riley said. “And for many of them, programs already in place help restore these rights by keeping victims informed and involved in their cases. These programs are one piece of a victim’s overall safety plan, ensuring that they are informed of their offender’s status. It is essential that a victim works with both law enforcement and the Victim Advocate in building a solid plan. Our message to all victims of crime is you are not alone.”
The first program, the New York Sheriffs Victim Hotline (www.VINELink.com), addresses the right for crime victims to be notified when the offender who harmed them is released from jail or prison. The Sheriffs’ Victim Hotline gives victims and, other concerned citizens, around the clock access to the custody status of offenders in jail and provides automated telephone or email notification to registered victims when an inmate is released. VINE was created in 1994 following the murder of Mary Byron in Louisville, Ky. She and her parents had asked to be notified when Mary’s ex-boyfriend was released from jail. They were never told that he was released, and he murdered Mary on her 21st birthday as she was leaving her place of employment.
In 2014, almost 2.8 million crime victims searched the VINE Database, using either the toll free number (1-888-VINE-4-NY), the VINEMobile app, the Sheriffs Mobile Patrol App (both available for IPhone and Android), or the website (VineLink.com). Also in 2014, over 100,000 crime victims received notification of a change in their offender’s status either by phone or email. It was anticipated that the addition of the text messaging option would result in even more crime victims receiving timely notification of vital offender information, and so far, these are the results being achieved.
“I welcome any resource for crime victims, as my office continues to seek ways to better serve the public safety needs of the citizens of Madison County,” said Riley.
The second, the SAVIN-NY Order of Protection Notification Program (www.SAVIN-NY.com), allows individuals who have been granted Family Court orders of protection to register to receive alerts when those orders are served. SAVINNY was created because the period of time immediately following the service of orders of protection can be particularly dangerous for victims, as offenders can be more violent during a time of separation. SAVIN-NY allows registered victims to receive notifications of service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via text message, e-mail, fax, automated phone call, web query or iAlertz, a free application for the iPhone or iPad. The Sheriffs’ Victim Advisory Board was created in the year 2000 to provide guidelines and direction to the New York Sheriffs Victim Hotline Program (VINE).
For additional information about the New York Sheriffs’ Victim Hotline and SAVINNY Order of Protection Program, contact the Madison County Sheriff’s Office at (315) 366-2318, or visit www.madisoncounty.ny.gov/Sheriff/services1.