Criminal Court Clerk Vince Dean on Thursday announced a partnership with VINE Court (a division of Equifax) for an automated system that will notify the registered victims of crimes as to the court dates of those charged with those crimes.
He said, "If you or someone you know is the victim of a crime and someone is arrested for that crime, you can register online and be notified of every court appearance for that defendant.
"Registering is simple and only takes a few minutes. On the Hamilton County Criminal Court website there is a link and a QR code for those that are more tech savvy, or just go to www.vinelink.com. Once registered you will receive notification anytime there is a court appearance scheduled or changed for the defendant in that case. Your information is secure and will not be sold or distributed to any other entities."
Criminal Court Clerk Dean said, "Hamilton County is proud to be the first county in the state of Tennessee with an independent court reporting system that is partnered with VINE Courts. VINE Courts has already proven to be a success in 14 states.
"This component is strictly Victim Notification of court appearances. Tennessee SAVIN, also a division of Equifax, already tracks and makes notifications regarding the custody status of offenders and is in all 95 Tennessee Counties. This partnership with Sheriffs has proven to be very successful for the past 10 years."
Key things to note:
- 1-No cost to Hamilton County or the Court Clerk’s office.
- 2-Victims must register for the service.
- 3-Your information will be secure and will not be shared.
- 4-Notifications are flexible and can be made through text, email, telephone, TTY/TDD or the app, depending on the registrant’s preference.
- 5-A registrant can opt out at anytime.
- 6-Hamilton County is the first county in Tennessee that is on an independent court reporting system to go live with this.