An automated notification system that allows victims and others who opt in to track the custody status of offenders in county jails is now up and running in all but one of New Hampshire’s 10 counties.

The service will roll out in Strafford County in early January and then every county in the state will be on board, said Sullivan County jail Superintendent David Berry, who is spearheading the project.

“This month alone we had 98 people sign up statewide. This year, a total of 662 people registered to receive notifications,” Berry said by phone Friday. “The system is working really well, and we’ve had great success so far.”

The confidential service, called Victim Information and Notification Everyday, allows victims, their family members and concerned residents to receive email, text and/or phone call notifications when an offender is released or transferred from a county correctional facility. It also alerts registered users if a defendant escapes.

When VINE calls, users are asked to enter a four-digit pin they created during the registration process so that VINE knows they received the message. If the call is not answered, VINE continues to call back until the call is answered or until 48 hours have passed.

No one is excluded from signing up for alerts because VINE is considered an “open system” that utilizes existing public information.

VINE’s 24/7 monitoring is free to all participants and is being implemented at no cost due to a two-year federal grant administered by the state’s Department of Justice. The grant was awarded to the Sullivan County Department of Corrections on behalf of the New Hampshire Association of Counties Superintendent’s Affiliate in 2018. In addition to all start-up costs, the grant covers the annual state operation fee of $106,712.

The two-year grant expires on June 30, 2020. However, there is a two-year rollover period that the state will take advantage of given that counties are still coming online a year and a half after the initial receipt of the grant, Berry said.

Once Strafford County is on board next month, the goal will be to spread the word about VINE and get as many professionals educated about the service as possible, Berry said. Corrections officials are working with members of the victim advocacy community to plan workshops in February, both in the North Country and at the New Hampshire Fire Academy in Concord. A representative from APPRISS Safety, the creator of VINE, will be on hand during those meetings.

“The folks who work directly with victims of crime are the people who you want on your side and who are going to get the word out for you,” Berry said.

At this time, notifications through VINE are not available to track the custody status of offenders in New Hampshire’s three prisons. However, the prison system is evaluating VINE and considering it as an option for the future, said New Hampshire Department of Corrections spokeswoman Laura Montenegro.

VINE is currently available in nearly every state. The system delivers more than 40 million notifications to victims and other users each year.

VINE has a mobile application and can be reached toll-free at 877-551-8463.