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Prison Release Notification

If you are a victim of a personal injury crime and the person or persons who committed the crime against you are sentenced to serve a prison sentence, you are entitled to receive Notification when the offender is considered for release regardless of where the offender is housed. If the offender(s) is incarcerated in a State Correctional Facility, you are also entitled to give input on the release.

CVC assists with these Notifications by assisting victims in Chester County register for Notification.

If the offender is serving time in Chester County Prison, victims can register for Pennsylvania SAVIN, an automated statewide notification system. SAVIN is an innovative, free, confidential and automated service that helps victims, their friends and/or family along with any concerned citizen track the status of an offender, housed in a COUNTY jail within the Commonwealth. With PA SAVIN, Chester County residents can register to receive real-time information about an offender's custody status, such as an inmate's release, transfer or escape. If you are a crime victim or a significant other of a crime victim, please contact CVC, register on-line, or call toll-free 1-866-9PA-SAVIN to register for PA SAVIN.

 

  • Before registering for SAVIN. please note the following:  
  • This service calls automatically when an offender's custody status changes.  Calls can come in the middle of the night.
  • If you have a telezapper or another tool or service that gets rid of calls from automated systems you need to remove it in order to get SAVIN calls.
  • You may register more than one phone number or e-mail address to be contacted by this service.
  • It is better not to register a phone number that rings to a switchboard in order to be sure that you get your notification.
  • For additional information about SAVIN, contact CVC.

 

 

If the offender is serving time in a Pennsylvania State Correctional Facility, victims must register with the Pennsylvania Office of the Victim Advocate (OVA) in order to give input and be notified about releases. CVC has registration brochures available and can assist with your registration, or you can register on- line at www.pbpp.state.pa.us/ova/. Once your registration is received and reviewed by OVA, you will be contacted through postal mail or email. If you would like to register for information on more than one inmate, please contact OVA at 1-800-322-4472 (nationwide) or 1-877-349-1064 (TDD).
Additional information on Registration with the Office of the Victim Advocate: The Office of the Victim Advocate can register any crime victim in a case where the sentencing court has ordered jurisdiction of the offender to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and/or the Pennsylvania Board of Probation & Parole. This includes:

• Sentenced offenders who are housed in state correctional institutions
• Sentenced offenders who received a state sentence (23+ months) and by judicial order are serving their sentence in the county correctional facility
• Sentenced offenders who received a county sentence (less than 23 months) and by judicial order are serving their sentence in a state correctional institution
• Sentenced offenders who are under the supervision of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation & Parole Who is Eligible to be registered?
• Adult victims (18 years of age or older) • Parents/legal guardians of minor victims
• Parents/legal guardians with power of attorney for incapacitated adult victims
• Family members of homicide victims

Why Should Victims Register?
• To receive notification of their right to provide victim input regarding any pre-release and parole review of the offender
• To receive notification of escapes, execution warrants and stays
• To receive notification from the Board of Pardons

Victims are not currently notified when an offender is transferred from one state correctional facility to another facility. If you would like to know where an offender is housed you can visit the following inmate locator page on the website: www.cor.state.pa.us or you can contact CVC. Call one of CVC’s 24-hour hotlines, 610-692-7420 or 610-692-7273, and ask to speak to a CVC Advocate for assistance with Prison Release Notification.