V.I.N.E.

The California State Victim Notification Service (VINE) is a service through which victims of crime can use the telephone or internet to search for information regarding their offender’s custody status and register to receive telephone and email notification when their offender’s custody status changes.  This service is brought to you by the California States Sheriff's Association. The Toll Free Number for CA VINE is 1-877-411-5588.  

Citizens may also register for notification from statewide VINE here.

VINE

General Information

The California State Victim Notification service (VINE) is a free and anonymous telephone service that provides victims of crime two important features: Information and Notification. California VINE is a service of the California State Sheriffs’ Association and is provided by your local sheriff.

 

Currently VINE is available in 17 California counties as an individual county-wide program. The 17 counties include Alameda County, Butte County, El Dorado County, Humboldt County, Napa County, Santa Cruz County, Solano County, Fresno County, Imperial County, Kings County, Los Angeles County, Mendocino County, Orange County, Sacramento County, San Bernardino County, Santa Clara County, and Sutter County. Please visit www.vinelink.com for more information on these counties. The California State Victim Notification service includes all other California counties under a single toll free number and online system.

 California VINE monitors the custody status of offenders in California’s county jails.  The information is stored at the VINE Communications Center in Louisville, KY.  Information is available to callers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

 The California VINE service is available in English and Spanish and is supported by 24-hour trained operator assistance.

Data Transfer Schedule

County jails:                                                   Every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Information

Anyone may call California VINE to determine the custody status of an offender.  Callers will need a touch-tone telephone to use the service.  This information is also available online at www.vinelink.com.  To search for offender information through California VINE, callers will need to provide one or more of the following items:

  • Offender Identification Number
  • Offender Name

 Information provided when calling California VINE:

  • Offender Name
  • Offender Number
  • Current Offender Custody Status (if the offender is in custody)
  • Location of Offender
  • Scheduled Release Date (if available)
  • Information about crime victim services in your area

Registration

Crime victims and the general public may register* directly with California VINE for telephone notification by using a touch-tone phone and calling the toll-free California VINE number.  Registration for telephone and email notification may be done at www.vinelink.com.  After locating the offender, to register for notification, they will need to provide California VINE with the following information:

  • A telephone number (including area code) where they can be reached for notification and a 4-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN)

    • OR

  • A valid email address

 *If a registered person changes their phone number or email address, they must update their registration with their new information by calling California VINE at 1-877-411-5588.

 *When a registered person is notified of an offenders transfer to another facility, he or she must re-register with VINE to keep the registration current.

Notification

Unless otherwise noted, notification calls begin as soon as VINE receives updated records from the on-site computer.  Notification calls to registered persons will be made when one or more of the following occur:

Custody Change Status Calling Pattern
Release Normal
Escape Normal
Return from Excape Normal
Return to Custody Non-Emergency
Death Non-Emergency Delay
Unsupervised Custody Normal
Transfer Non-Emergency Delay 2
Advanced Release (30 Days) Advanced

Calling Patterns

Normal:  Calls will be made every 30 minutes for 48 hours or until the correct PIN is entered to confirm and stop the notification calls.  If an answering machine or a person answers a call and the correct PIN is not entered, then calls will be made every 2 hours for the remainder of the 48-hour period. 

Non-Emergency:  Calls will be made every 30 minutes between 7:00 am – 9:00 pm for 48 hours or until the call is confirmed.  Calls are confirmed and stopped by entering your PIN.  Notification messages will be left on an answering machine, but calls will continue every 2 hours for 48 hours between 7:00 am 9:00 pm. 

Non-Emergency Delay:  Calls will be made every 30 minutes between 7:00 am – 9:00 pm for 48 hours or until the call is confirmed.  Calls are confirmed and stopped by entering your PIN.  Notification messages will be left on an answering machine, but calls will continue every 2 hours for 48 hours between 7:00 am – 9:00 pm.  Notification calls will not be made immediately after the death record is received by VINE, but will be delayed 24 hours. 

Non-Emergency Delay 2:  Calls will be made every 30 minutes between 7:00 am – 9:00 pm for 48 hours or until the call is confirmed.  Calls are confirmed and stopped by entering your PIN.  Notification messages will be left on an answering machine, but calls will continue every 2 hours for 48 hours between 7:00 am – 9:00 pm.  Notification calls will not be made immediately after the transfer record is received by VINE, but will be delayed 8 hours. 

Advanced: Calls will be made every 30 minutes between 7:00 am – 9:00 pm for 48 hours or until the call is confirmed.  Calls are confirmed and stopped by entering your PIN.  Notification messages will be left on an answering machine, but calls will continue every 2 hours for 48 hours between 7:00 am – 9:00 pm.  Notification calls will start 30 days prior to the expected date of release. 

Note Regarding Caller ID or Anonymous Call Block: Notification calls from VINE will display a telephone number with a “502” area code.  This number will not be answered when called, but is only used for purposes of getting the notification through when anonymous calls are blocked.

How do I stop recieving unwanted calls?

Please call 1-877-411-5588 (Toll-free) and select the option to speak with the operator. PLease provide the state in which the offender is housed, as well as the phone number that is being called. With this information VINE will be able to research the problem with getting the phone calls stopped.

Please be advised that Siskiyou County is unable to remove or update your phone number for the VINE service.