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PHILADELPHIA, May 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania
Commission on Crime and Delinquency today helped to unveil a new automated
system to help victims of crime in Philadelphia track the status of
offenders in the prison system.

    The Pennsylvania Statewide Automated Victim Information and
Notification, or PA SAVIN, system allows citizens to register to be
notified of an offender's release, transfer, or escape from a county or
state facility either by telephone or e-mail, 24 hours a day, seven days a
week. Philadelphia is the 26th county to implement the system, which
eventually will be offered statewide.

    "PA SAVIN allows crime victims, victims' family and friends, members of
the public, law enforcement officials, victim service providers and the
media to receive fast notification about an offender's status," said PCCD
chairman Walter M. Phillips Jr. "PCCD commends Philadelphia for its
foresight and dedication to victims of crime in implementing this automated
notification system."

    Citizens wishing to register may call, toll-free, 1-866-972-7284, or
register online at http://www.pacrimevictims.state.pa.us.

    Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham, Philadelphia Prison
Commissioner Louis Giorla and area victim advocates joined Phillips for the
announcement.

    Philadelphia is the largest local government in the state to implement
PA SAVIN. The Philadelphia Prison System houses 23 percent of all
county-incarcerated inmates in the state. One third of Pennsylvania's
counties are now online, and 63 counties with jails are scheduled to join
PA SAVIN by the end of October.

    PA SAVIN complements an existing system operated by the state Office of
Victim Advocate that provides notification to crime victims about offenders
within the state's Department of Corrections and Board of Probation and
Parole.

    The implementation of the Pennsylvania Statewide Automated Victim
Information and Notification system is a joint project of the Pennsylvania
Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the Pennsylvania District Attorneys
Institute. Pennsylvania is one of 13 states to receive funding from the
Bureau of Justice Assistance within the U.S. Department of Justice to
launch a statewide program.

    PCCD and the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute have selected
Appriss Inc., a Kentucky-based technology company, to implement SAVIN in
Pennsylvania.

    Appriss launched the first victim notification service in 1994
following the murder of 21-year-old Mary Byron, who was shot by an
ex-boyfriend three days after he was released from jail on rape charges.
Byron was not aware that he had been released.

    The victim notification service is currently available in more than
2,000 communities in 41 states.

    For more information about PCCD, visit http://www.pccd.state.pa.us.

    EDITOR'S NOTE: Other counties using PA SAVIN are: Berks, Blair, Carbon,
Centre, Cumberland, Clarion, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Elk, Erie,
Jefferson, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Mifflin, Montgomery, Montour,
Pike, Somerset, Tioga, Union, Venango, Washington and Wayne.

    CONTACT: Tara Mead

    (717) 265-8470