Program aimed at victim protection

OLYMPIA – After years of abuse or an attack by a stranger, police arrest the criminal and cart him off to jail.

The victim can heave a big sigh of relief, right?

Often, no.

Maybe the attacker has posted bail. Maybe he’s been moved to another jail. Or maybe he’s already been released and, enraged, is looking for the person who put him behind bars.

On Monday, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs launched a new statewide system that will let crime victims – 24 hours a day – keep tabs on jailed criminals: where they’re being held, for example, and if there are any court hearings scheduled. If an offender is being transferred, released or escapes, the system will automatically warn victims by phone or e-mail.

“Sometimes they (victims) may not know a person’s out until they see him on the streets,” said Mariza Anderson, a victim advocate with Lutheran Community Services in Spokane. “It can throw them into a panic.”

Or worse. Appriss, the company that runs Washington’s system, began as a project among county officials and software engineers in Kentucky after the slaying of 21-year-old Mary Byron.

In late 1993, according to the company, Byron had been assaulted and stalked by a former boyfriend. He was arrested and jailed, but bonded out of jail.

Byron had no way of knowing he’d been released. On Dec. 6, 1993, as she was about to drive home from work, the ex-boyfriend approached the side of the car and killed her with seven shots to the head and chest.

“It was an astounding wake-up call for our community in Louisville,” said Mike Davis, president of Appriss. “Information, to a victim, means power.”

The system replaces a patchwork victim-notification system that varied dramatically by county. King, Pierce and Snohomish counties have automated systems. Others, like Spokane and many cities, try to notify some victims by phone. Small counties do little or no notification, except for restraining orders and anti-harassment orders.

“You don’t have the staffing; you don’t have the computer software,” said Stevens County Sheriff Craig Thayer. “You’re trying to cover basic services.”

In the case of prison inmates, the state Department of Corrections has long run a separate victim-notification program.

Appriss now runs victim-notification systems for more than 1,600 communities in 40 states. The system handles more than 400,000 phone calls per month.

The system was launched with a federal grant of about $800,000 and another $411,000 from the state, said association executive director Don Pierce. The state budget office predicts that keeping the system running will cost the state about $500,000 a year.

“Anything that will help victims get back on their feet and feel safe and productive, it’s totally worth it,” said Leah Westra, Eastern Washington University’s victims advocate.

With the system, crime victims can dial (877) 846-3492 or go to www.vinelink.com and check an inmate’s status or sign up for notification.

Starting next summer, the system will also track protection orders, so that victims can know when the order was delivered to an alleged harasser or abuser.

“The highest lethality is six to 24 hours after the person has been served” with a protection order, said Westra. Knowing when the harasser or abuser gets the order, she said, allows the victim to find a safe place or be more guarded.

Many jails, she said, will call victims when a person is released. But it often can be hours after the person is back on the streets.

“They’re doing their best,” she said of jail officials. “They’re totally overwhelmed as well. I think this system is just going to relieve a lot of stress.”