OKLAHOMA CITY - Victims of crime in Oklahoma will get increased access to services and information through an enhanced version of Oklahoma Victim Information and Notification Everyday, also typically known as OK-VINE.
The new version of OK-VINE, which has been deployed, offers users innovative functionality, an improved user experience, and expanded access to victim services. A key feature is a service provider directory, which allows users to ask for assistance and connect directly with both local and national victim service providers. With improved user experience and enhanced search functionality, the new OK-VINE platform offers a more intuitive service to victims throughout the state.
“Victims of crimes in Oklahoma can now more easily track offenders in custody. This is a matter of the victims safety and government transparency. Our Victims Services Unit worked with the VINE platform to provide enhanced access to victim resources and information. Victims may access the VINE information by logging into the website or downloading the VINELink mobile App. They can also call the Attorney General’s Office Victims Services Unit for assistance.” Attorney General John O’Connor
One of the great new VINE features includes a registration link that connects the county jails and Department of Corrections, allowing for one registration in VINE to provide notifications to victims for offenders through all movements across and between the systems. Additional language access will be available for users. Notifications will continue to come in English or Spanish, but the website and mobile app users will be able to choose a multitude of language options from a drop-down menu. With the addition of the OK-VINE page, important Oklahoma-specific information can be posted and promoted, such as events, activities, new agencies and resources, and other topics important to victim safety and rights.
The Office of the Attorney General in Oklahoma has offered the VINE service since 2006, providing information to victims across all 77 counties in the state, playing a key role in keeping victims safe and affording victims’ rights through the power of information. Through ongoing collaborative efforts between the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Corrections, the Pardon and Parole Board and County Sheriffs, the service is comprised of a statewide network of county detention centers, state prisons, and probation and parole, which provides crime victims and concerned citizens free access to timely and reliable offender custody information.
During 2020:
• 77,991 Oklahoma residents registered to receive notifications;
• 181,723 notifications were provided to registered users through outbound calls, emails, text messages and TTY, a device used to communicate with hearing or speech impaired individuals;
• 2,294,076 offender searches were conducted using the website and mobile applications.
Oklahoma contracts with Appriss Insights, the nation’s leading victim notification network provider, to provide this free, reliable, and easy-to-use service that includes access to a toll-free telephone number with 24-hr assistance, as well as the VINELink website and mobile application. Users may also register to receive automated notifications relating to changes in custody status by telephone, email or text message. These communications are in both English and Spanish.
Appriss has been serving victims of crime and intimate partner violence since 1994 and has continued to evolve through advancements in technology. The idea for VINE originated in 1993, when Louisville native Mary Byron was killed by her former partner after she was not informed about his release from jail. Since then, VINE has made it its mission to make sure millions of victims all over the United States find empowerment through regular updates about their offender’s incarceration status.
After more than 25 years informing victims and keeping them safe, VINE is utilized in 48 states and sends 40 million notifications to victims, their families, and other concerned citizens each year. When the latest version of VINE is deployed in the state in mid-October, Oklahoma will be the 29th state on the new platform.
Learn more about the latest VINE platform by visiting VINELink.com.
The VINELink Mobile App is available for iOS and Android devices.
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