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Enhancements to Kansas Domestic Violence Victim notification System Launched

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Enhancements to Kansas Domestic Violence Victim notification System Launched

Posted October 15, 2022

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced that enhancements to the state’s victim notification system have been launched.

Kansas Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) is an automated victim notification service, provided through the collaboration of the Office of the Attorney General, Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Sheriffs’ Association.

VINE recently launched an enhanced version of the service in Kansas, which includes an improved experience for victims that streamlines how they may search and register to receive automated notifications that inform them when an offender is released, transferred, or escapes from a county jail facility.

Among the enhancements:

On the VINELink website and in the VINELink app, users can proceed as a guest user or create a confidential personal account with a private password.
Creating an account allows for the VINE user to manage contact information, PIN (personal identification number), passwords, registrations and notifications.
The VINE Resource Center available on the VINELink website and in the VINELink app offers video instructional tutorials for search, registration, and notification in VINELink, as well as directions for creating and managing a personal account in VINELink.
VINE telephone service allows the user to search and register for notifications using voice prompts instead of a keypad for faster more intuitive service.
VINE registrants will now receive a VINE service outage notice one hour from the time of the initial agency outage. VINE registrants previously received this notice if the agency outage lasted more than 24 hours. The VINE registrant’s notice states that VINE is not receiving data from the agency and recommends the registrant contact the agency directly regarding offender custody status.

In 2021, more than 12,000 victims of crime registered for automated notifications with Kansas VINE. That same year, Kansas VINE delivered over 46,000 notifications regarding an offender’s custody status.

In its annual release of Kansas domestic violence statistics, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation reports that in 2021:

There were 22,593 domestic violence incidents reported to law enforcement, one every 23 minutes.
There were 11,097 arrests, one in every 47 minutes.
In addition, 32 homicides – 1 in every 5 homicides reported in 2021 – were classified as domestic violence related in Kansas.

The Office of the Attorney General offers houses a Victim Services Division, which provides resource and referral information to survivors of domestic violence, grants to victim services agencies, and training to professionals on domestic violence dynamics and intervention. Additionally, the division is responsible for implementing the certification for batterer intervention programs, to ensure that the programs for those who perpetrate violence meet minimum state standards.

To learn more about Kansas VINE or to sign up for offender notifications, visit https://ag.ks.gov/vine. For more information on domestic violence and resources for assistance, contact the attorney general’s Victim Services Division at 1-800-828-9745 or www.ag.ks.gov/victim-services. For 24 hour helpline assistance in Kansas, call 1-888-END-ABUSE or 1-888-363-2287.