FACT SHEET:  IowaVINE
1-888-7-IAVINE  (1-888-742-8463)
www.vinelink.com

GENERAL INFORMATION
IowaVINE is free and anonymous telephone and Internet service that provides victims of crime two important services: Information and Notification.

IowaVINE is a service of Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller's Crime Victim Assistance Division and is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance.  When the two-year grant period ends, IowaVINE will be funded with criminal fines and penalties. 

IowaVINE monitors the custody status of offenders through connection with the offender database of the Iowa Department of Corrections.  The information is stored at the national VINE Communications Center in Louisville, KY.  Information on IowaVINE is updated every 15 minutes to an hour. 

IowaVINE is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by using a push button telephone or the Internet.  Victim serviced trained Operators are available 24 hours a day.  All IowaVINE services are provided in both English and Spanish.  Operators also use the Language Line to assist crime victims in over 400 languages. 

DATA TRANSFER SCHEDULE
Data is transferred automatically through the offender database in Iowa to the national VINE Communications Center.  Information on IowaVINE is updated regularly throughout the day for DOC prisons.  Information is transferred:

• DOC prisons: 19 file updates within a 24-hour time period.

INFORMATION
Anyone may contact IowaVINE at any time to get information on the custody status of an offender.  A touch-tone telephone or Internet access on a computer is necessary to use the service. To search for offender information on IowaVINE, one of the following are needed:

• Offender’s Identification Number
• Offender’s Name
• When several offenders have a common name, one of the following is needed:
• Offender’s Date of Birth
• Offender’s Gender
• Offender’s Race or Ethnicity

IowaVINE will provide the following public information on the telephone or Internet:

• Offender’s Name
• Offender’s Identification Number
• Offender’s Current Custody Status
• Offender’s Current Location
• Information about crime victim services in Iowa

 

 

REGISTRATION
Crime victims and the general public may register directly with IowaVINE by using a touch-tone telephone and calling the toll-free IowaVINE number or on the Internet at www.vinelink.com.

After locating the offender's information on IowaVINE, a person may register for automated telephone notification by providing the following information:

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

 

Information given to IowaVINE is confidential and will never be shared with the offender, the offender's attorney, or the offender's family and acquaintances.

If a registered person changes their phone number or email address, they must call IowaVINE or go on the Internet and update their nformation.

NOTIFICATION
Notification calls from IowaVINE will begin as soon as a person registers.  IowaVINE receives updated records from the DOC offender database.  Automated notification phone calls to a person registered for IowaVINE will be made when one or more of the following occur:

• Offender’s Release                                                                                               
• Offender’s Escape
• Offender’s Returned from Escape
• Offender’s Transfer to Another Facility (May be delayed up to 8 hours.)
• Offender’s Death (May be delayed up to 24 hours.)                                                                       

 

CALLING PATTERNS
When an offender’s status changes, automated telephone calls will be sent by IowaVINE every 30 minutes for 48 hours, or until the correct PIN is entered to confirm receipt by the correct person and stop the notification calls.

If an answering machine or a person answers a call and the correct PIN is not entered, calls and emails will be made every 2 hours for the remainder of the 48-hour period.

NOTE:  For telephones with Caller ID or Anonymous Call Block--a notification call from VINE will show up as 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.

IowaVINE
1-888-7-IAVINE  (1-888-742-8463)
www.vinelink.com