COUNTY WARNING VICTIMS OF ABUSE.Byline: Douglas Haberman Daily News Staff Writer Victims of domestic violence who fear their jailed spouses may soon harm them again can now be notified when the offender is released under a free service rolled out Tuesday by Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County officials. The $300,000-a-year Victim Information and Notification Everyday program uses a computer system to track changes in inmate status at all county jails. If an inmate is released on bail, automated phone calls will go out quickly to all victims registered to be notified. When a sentenced offender's term is ending, registered victims will be called two or three days before the inmate gets out of jail. ``Finally Los Angeles County . . . is willing to go a long way to protect the victims of domestic violence,'' Supervisor Gloria Molina Gloria Molina is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and the current chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.[1] Molina grew up as one of ten children in the Los Angeles suburb of Pico Rivera, California, U.S. said at a news conference at the county Hall of Administration. Developed in Louisville, Ky., the program has been used since late January in Los Angeles County, where 115 victims of offenders have been signed up and eight notified so far. The VINE program won Board of Supervisors approval after the April 1996 killing of Veronica Daniel, 16, and her 2-year-old cousin, Betito Hernandez, by Humberto Huelitl. He had been released from jail after serving only five days of a 30-day sentence for misdemeanor abuse of Daniel, but she was not notified that Huelitl was out. After the killings, attorney Gloria Allred Gloria Rachel Allred (born Gloria Rachel Bloom on July 3, 1941) is an American lawyer and radio talk show host. She is also the mother of Court TV hostess Lisa Bloom. and Maria Del Mar Maria del Mar is the name of two Canadian entertainment personalities, who are sometimes confused with each other. Maria del Mar (rock singer) was the lead singer of goth rock band National Velvet in the late 1980s and early 1990s. St. John, an advocate for battered women, pushed officials for a victim notification system A Victim Notification System (VNS), Crime Victim Notification (CVN) or State-wide Automated Victim Notification Service (SAVNS) is a computer controlled system by which victims of federal crimes are informed about the release of or the escape of . ``We never wanted what happened to that family to happen to anyone else,'' Allred said. Joining Allred and St. John at the news conference were Supervisors Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, Don Knabe Donald R. Knabe (born October 15, 1943 in Illinois) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, serving the Fourth District, a crescent shaped district that covers the coastline from Marina Del Rey southward to Long Beach, and southeastern Los Angeles County to and Zev Yaroslavsky Zev Yaroslavsky (born December 21, 1948) is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D. Edelman. , along with Sheriff Lee Baca Leroy David Baca (b. May 27 1942, East Los Angeles, California) is the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California. After graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School (Los Angeles) in 1960, Baca worked his way through East Los Angeles College before starting with the L.A. and District Attorney Gil Garcetti. ``This VINE program is going to save lives,'' Knabe said. The service isn't limited to domestic-violence cases. Anyone who fears a repeat attack by a violent offender can sign up. Law enforcement officers arriving at the scenes of crimes will tell victims about the service, Baca said, but it is up to the victims to register. Baca said the Sheriff's Department receives about 10,500 domestic violence reports a year. Garcetti said the District Attorney's Office files homicide charges related to domestic violence every nine to 10 days. Baca vowed to keep all domestic violence inmates in jail for their full sentence. THE FACTS For information on the Victim Information and Notification Everyday program, call (877) VINE-4LA (846-3452). The county's domestic violence hotline is (800) 978-3600. |
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