Pocono News Section

PA-Savin Up and Running In Luzerne Co.

PA-Savin Up and Running In Luzerne Co. - Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at 3:36PM EST

Reported by: Jill Konopka
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2008 @ 03:36pm EST
WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY- A new notification network is now available in Luzerne County to benefit crime victims. It's called PA Savin and it's already up and running in 32-other counties with jails.
Pa-Savin is an acronym; standing for Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification. For many, the Savin system will provide a sense of security. The Savin system was unveiled Wednesday morning at a news conference at the Luzerne County Courthouse Lynn Gera was once the victim of domestic violence. Back then, it was hard to find out the custody status of the accused. Was he locked up or set free?
Gera told us, "At that time you weren't notified so you didn't know if the offender was in jail or not." Now, there's a new system in place here in Luzerne County.
It's called PA-Savin and it's a free, confidential program available online and over the phone; toll - free. Natural Sound, "Im calling to tell you, there's a change in custody status, a person with the last name has been released from custody."
It allows the victims or anyone else to track the status of criminals housed at the county jail. Lynn Gera loves the idea. Gera added, "It gives you piece of mind, knowing you can call and find out if they're there or not." District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll says it will benefit her office as well, "This way they can take pre-cautions if they have too in the event they hadn't already done that." Notifications are available 24-hours a day, seven days a week within minutes of real time.
Savin will also likely save county officials from making many dead end calls Capt. Mark Rockovich works for the Luzerne County Jail, "Many times there's no answering machine, they've moved away or changed numbers and the victim's not notified the person is released."
At the Luzerne County Lock-Up alone, there are just fewer than 900 inmates. Warden Gene Fischi runs the jail, "On any given day there are 30 to 40 inmates who are released, looking at 5,000 inmates a year that are out, so I’m sure that's a lot of victims." Victims, now being offered a better sense of security "
Luzerne County is the 33rd of 63 counties across the state with jails to get online with this program. The system should be up and running everywhere else by October of 2008. It's paid for by a grant from the Department Of Justice.
If you'd like an update on an offender call 1-866-972-7284 toll free or log onto our website - and click on the link for PA-Savin.