Enhanced VINELink Frequently Asked Questions

Enhanced VINELink

Frequently Asked Questions

What is VINELink?

VINELink is an online portal to VINE, America’s leading victim notification network. VINE has

been providing victims and concerned citizens with the power of information for over 20 years,

affording countless individuals the sense of security they deserve. VINELink can be accessed

24/7/365, providing the most reliable information regarding custody status changes and

criminal case information.

The VINE service is able to notify victims and concerned citizens via telephone, email, TTY, text

message, and in-application notifications, where available. You may also sign up to receive

notifications by calling your participating state or county’s toll-free telephone number.

What’s new in VINELink?

Depending on your selected state, you may notice a difference in the way VINELink looks and

feels. We have enhanced the overall user experience, adding features that will significantly

benefit the community of victims and concerned citizens, and have made information more

easily accessible.

Why can’t I find the offender or court case I am searching for?

VINE provides information on offenders who are currently in custody or who may have been

recently released from custody. If your search does not produce the offender you are looking

for, please contact the facility where you believe that offender is housed to inquire about

his/her custody status.

Possible reasons the offender or case was not found:

1. Facility is offline: Occasionally, a facility may experience a loss of connection to VINE due

to service interruption or required maintenance. During this time, the facility is

considered to be “offline.” When this happens, the facility’s current custody information

will be unavailable. Until connection is restored, this information, as well as the ability

to search for offenders and register to receive notifications, will also be unavailable.

Upon reconnection, custody information is updated, and all functions are once again

available. If you need offender information quickly, please contact the facility directly.

2. In the custody of another agency:

o Federal inmates: VINE does not receive federal inmate information. Please visit

the Bureau of Prison’s Inmate Locator for assistance.

o U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): Please visit www.ice.gov and

use the Detainee Locator tool to search for an offender who is in ICE custody.

3. Non-participating areas: VINE is available in the majority of the United States, but there

are certain states with counties that do not yet utilize the VINE service. VINE is unable to

receive information from non-participating areas. Additionally, the offender search

functionality may not yet be available in your selected state. If you are unable to locate

an offender, try selecting another state to search within, or contact the facility, if

known, directly.

How do notifications work in VINELink?

VINELink offers multiple custody status notification options, victims are able to choose how

they wish to be alerted. Such options include telephone, TTY, email, text message, and in-app

notifications.

1. Phone/TTY: Once you register to receive phone (or TTY for the hearing impaired)

notifications, VINE will call the phone number you have provided when there is a change

in an offender’s custody status. The types of custody changes may vary depending on

the state or facility where the offender is located. When you receive a phone call from

VINE, listen to the message, then enter your previously selected PIN followed by the

pound (#) key. Entering your PIN lets VINE know that you received the call and will stop

VINE from calling you again regarding this particular status change. For this reason,

please do not register a phone number that rings to a switchboard. If you do not answer

a notification call, VINE will leave a message and continue to call you back until you

enter your PIN, or until a predetermined amount of time has passed. This timeframe

varies from state to state, but it is usually between 24 to 48 hours

2. Email: Once you register to receive email notifications, VINE will email the address you

provided when a change in the offender’s status has occurred. The types of custody

changes that trigger notification emails vary depending on the state or facility where

the offender is located. You will receive only one email per status change. Most states

do not require a PIN for email notifications.

o Tip: Add the following email address to your address book or white list to

prevent VINE email notifications from being blocked by your spam filter: do-not-

[email protected].

3. Text message (not available in all areas): Once you register to receive text message

notifications, VINE will send you a text message when an offender’s status changes. The

types of custody changes that trigger notification texts may vary depending on the state

or facility where the offender is located. You will receive only one text message per

status change. You may be required to create a 4-digit PIN for text notifications.

4. In-app notifications: Once you register to receive in-app notifications, VINE will send

you an in-app notification when an offender’s status changes. The types of custody

changes that trigger in-app notifications may vary depending on the state or facility

where the offender is located. In-app notifications will be stored under the notification

dashboard indicated by the ALERTS icon in the VINELink app. If you are using the mobile

app, and have agreed to receive push notifications from VINELink, you may choose from

various settings for displaying the push notification banner. These notifications can be

received from both your mobile device and through web experience.

Why am I being asked for a PIN?

We ask that you create a 4-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) when registering to

receive notifications. Your PIN is necessary to verify that you are the intended recipient of the

notification. You will also need your PIN if you wish to update or disable your registered

notifications.

If you are a verified account holder, you can create one universal PIN that will span across all

registered notifications. This can be updated in either your VINELink account profile, or on

within each registration.

What is the ‘Caller ID’ number and ‘Sender Email’ address?

Phone calls from VINE will show up on caller ID as 502-213-2798. Email notifications will be sent

to you from do[email protected].

How do I delete my registrations?

Verified account holders: Within VINELink, go to your Watchlist and select the offender whose

registration you would like to change. Select the Get Notified tab, and either delete, or add a

new notification method.

Guest users: As a guest user, use the Search > My Registrations feature and select the

notification you wish to delete.

How do I create an account?

For states that have an account creation feature, select Create an Account and follow the

prompts to create a username and password. You will be prompted to verify your account via

email or text message.

How do I find registrations from the previous version of VINELink?

To find previous registrations, select the Search icon, then select the dropdown and choose My

Registrations. Enter your registration information to locate your existing registrations.

If you have a VINELink account, you can add your existing notifications to your account so that

they are viewable in your Watchlist.

If you are a guest user, you can choose to create an account, or find your notification through

the My Registrations feature.

How do I search for an offender?

To search for an offender, select the Search icon, choose Offender from the dropdown menu,

then search by Name or Offender ID.

How do I search for a service provider?

To search for a service provider, select the Search icon, choose Service Provider from the

dropdown menu, then search by Name or Helps With.

If you are not sure how to get started, select Not Sure, Guide Me from the Search feature. You

will be prompted to provide some clarifying information regarding your current needs and/or

how you have been impacted. Once this is complete, you will be presented with a list of service

providers that can assist you.

How do I stop unwanted VINE notifications?

Using your PIN, access the VINELink app or website and search for the offender you wish to

delete (if you are a guest user). Account holders may also go to their Watchlist to locate the

offender whose registration they wish to delete.

If you do not know your PIN, or if you believe you are receiving a notification in error, please

call your state’s toll-free VINE number found at the top of this page. Select the option that

allows you to speak with an operator who will assist you in stopping any unwanted calls.

What is Watch?

Watch allows you to bookmark offenders you want to track so you don’t have to search again.

To get started, search for an offender and sign up for notifications or choose the Watch icon to

save the offender to this list. Please note that if you only add an offender to your watch list, but

do not register for notifications, you will not be notified of custody status changes. You will

need to sign in or create an account to have access to this feature.

What is Contacts?

Contacts allow you to bookmark service providers you want to track so you don’t have to

search again. To get started, Search for a service provider and choose

the Contacts bookmark icon to save the provider to this list. You will need to sign in or create an

account to have access to this feature.

What is News?

The News Feed shows news and other information from your state VINE program and other

service providers. You will need to sign in or create an account to have access to this feature.

How current is VINE?

VINE information is as current as the data received from jail facilities. If you believe that VINE is

presenting any outdated data, please call the facility directly for an update and initiate your

personal safety plan.

Can you change or remove Offender information in VINE?

No. Offender information in VINE is received directly from local and state facilities for the

purpose of notifying victims when a change in an offender’s custody status occurs. We work

closely with state and local agencies to ensure data integrity and accuracy. If you believe that

there might be incorrect data in VINE, please report this to the facility directly.

What web browsers does VINELink support?

We support the current and previous major versions of the following browsers on a rolling

basis.

 Microsoft Internet Explorer – http://windows.microsoft.com/internet-explorer

 Google Chrome – http://www.google.com/chrome

 Mozilla Firefox – https://www.firefox.com

To identify what browser and version you are currently using, visit the following

site: http://whatbrowser.org

A screen resolution size of at least 1024×768 pixels is also recommended.