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Anna Nasset is an international speaker, trainer, and author of the memoir “Now I Speak.” Troy Morton serves as the Penobscot County Sheriff and president of the Maine Sheriffs’ Association.
In the quiet moments of a survivor’s life, the most dangerous thing isn’t always a person; it’s the unknown.
For more than a decade, Anna has lived with the reality of a serial stalker. After years of torment, he was finally sentenced to 10 years in prison — one of the longest stalking sentences in U.S. history. But for a survivor, a sentence is not the end of the story. The “job” of being a victim never ends. It simply shifts into a state of constant vigilance.
For survivors across the country, safety planning depends on a simple, life-saving tool: VINE ( Victim Information and Notification Everyday). This automated platform provides real-time alerts when an offender’s custody status changes. It is the difference between a survivor being able to sleep at night and living in a state of “psychological warfare,” wondering if the person who harmed them has been released, transferred, or bailed out.
Currently, Maine is the only state in the nation that does not fully provide victims with a version of this essential tool. We are the national outlier, and it is a distinction that puts Maine lives at risk.
Protecting victims is a critical responsibility within the criminal justice system. Law enforcement professionals work to provide safety, resources, and advocacy for those impacted by crime, while also ensuring victims are empowered and kept informed throughout the process.
Maine’s criminal statutes already require victim notifications for certain crimes, and that process would remain unchanged. However, it can be significantly strengthened through electronic victim notification systems, which allow victims, family members, witnesses, and others affected by criminal activity to receive alerts when an individual is released from custody.
Maine has already taken an important step forward with a pilot program operating in the Aroostook, Penobscot, Somerset, and Two Bridges Regional jails. In just these four facilities, more than 8,500 notifications have been issued, and nearly 6,500 individuals have registered to receive alerts. Those users include not only victims of domestic violence, but also witnesses, family members, and concerned community members who rely on the system to stay informed.
Information is power. Yet in Maine, that power remains fragmented. Whether someone receives a critical alert should not depend on which county line a jail sits behind. Expanding electronic victim notification statewide would help ensure consistent, timely information for those who need it most.
Investing in automated victim notification is a no-brainer to us. This is a critical, common-sense investment that will move our state from last in the nation to a leader in victim services. The VINE system is designed to supplement, not replace, our existing statutory obligations. It offers a confidential layer of protection, available 24/7, without requiring overstretched jail staff to perform extra data entry. VINE simply and effectively connects existing records to the people who need that information most.
Maine prides itself on community and compassion. It is common sense to provide victims with the tools they need to stay safe. It is an essential responsibility of our criminal justice system to ensure that survivors are not the last to know when their offender is back on the street.
Let’s stop asking why Maine is among the last in the nation and start showing the rest of the country how we put victims first by funding a statewide automated victim notification system now.
