BOP Program Statement 1490.06 § 13

Page 7, Section 13, c. Types of Notifications and Time Frames. All notifications will be

made by using the template in VNS. The letters created by the template must not be altered in

any way that will affect their content or overall appearance.

However, the Victim and Witness Notice form (BP-323) may be completed as needed for the

appropriate notification. The initial notification letter must include a copy of the Department of

Justice Victim Notification System Pamphlet.

Initial and subsequent All notifications will be sent via regular mail with the exception of

escape notifications, which must be mailed via certified mail, return receipt requested.

Page 9, Section 13, (3) Escapes. If telephonic contact is not possible, unit staff will complete

the notification process by forwarding a BP-323 form to the victim by the next work day via

certified mail, return receipt requested VNS. If telephonic contact is made, unit staff will

complete the VNS notification process by forwarding a BP-323 form to the victim within seven

calendar days via certified mail, return receipt requested the notification preference.

Page 15, Section 17, CORRESPONDENCE AND FILING, b. When sending certified

mail, the inmate's name and register number must not be noted on the certified mail return

receipt requested (green and white card). Once the receipt has been returned to the institution,

it must be filed in the Privacy Folder, Section I of the Inmate Central File.

b. Unit staff must document all communication (e.g., telephone, certified mail return

receipt requested, correspondence, etc.) with a victim(s), including unsuccessful contact

attempts, on the Victim Notification Record, Attachment B. The Victim Notification

Record must be filed in the Privacy Folder, Section I of the Inmate Central File, and may

not be disclosed to the inmate. This information may only be disclosed to court officials

or law enforcement agency personnel on a need-to-know basis.

Program

S tatement

U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Prisons

OPI: CPD

NUMBER: 1490.06

DATE: 5/23/2002

SUBJECT: Victim and Witness

Notification Program

1. [PURPOSE AND SCOPE §551.150. The Bureau of Prisons provides

a requesting victim and/or witness of a serious crime with

information on the release from a Bureau institution of the

inmate convicted of that serious crime.]

The Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982, the Crime Control

Act of 1990, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of

1994, as well as the Attorney General's Guidelines for Victim and

Witness Assistance set forth procedures to meet the needs of

crime victims and witnesses.

A major component of each of these

directives is to ensure victims/witnesses are advised of the

significant stages in the criminal justice process. This Program

Statement establishes Bureau procedures for responding to a

request from a victim or witness who wishes to be notified

regarding a specific inmate's release or release-related

activities.

2. SUMMARY OF CHANGES. This revision incorporates the following

changes:

! Text and procedures for the National Victim of Crime

Notification System (VNS) have been added;

! Removes the requirement to send final release

notifications via certified mail/return receipt

requested;

! Removes the requirement to send carbon copies of

notification letters to the U.S. Attorney

Victim/Witness Coordinator;

[Bracketed Bold - Rules]

Regular Typed - Implementing Information

PS 1490.06

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Page 2

! Incorporates procedures to notify inmate victims

regarding incarcerated offenders; and

! Incorporates procedures when a victim is compromised.

3. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES. The expected results of this program

are:

a. Victims who are on record to receive information will be

notified, within established time frames, of an inmate's

admission to, or release from, an institution or contract

facility.

b. Victims who are on record to receive information will be

notified, within established time frames, of opportunities to

appear in person at an inmate's parole hearing or submit written

comments for consideration.

4. DIRECTIVES AFFECTED

a. Directive Rescinded

PS 1490.05 Victim and Witness Notification (6/21/00)

b. Directives Referenced

PS 3906.16 Employee Development Manual (3/21/97)

PS 5050.46 Compassionate Release, Procedures for

Implementation of 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A) and

4205(g) (5/19/98)

PS 5180.04 Central Inmate Monitoring System (8/16/96)

PS 5216.05 Juvenile Delinquents (9/1/99)

PS 5264.07 Telephone Regulations for Inmates (1/31/02)

PS 5265.11 Correspondence (7/9/99)

PS 5267.06 Visiting Regulations (5/17/99)

PS 5280.08 Furloughs (2/4/98)

PS 5321.07 Unit Management (9/16/99)

PS 5553.06 Escapes/Deaths Notification (8/23/99)

PS 5800.11 Inmate Central File, Privacy Folder, and

Parole Mini-Files (12/31/97)

PS 7310.04 Community Corrections Center (CCC)

Utilization and Transfer Procedure (12/16/98)

VNS User Manual

Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness

Assistance, January 31, 2000

Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982, Public Law 97-291

PS 1490.06

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c. Rules cited in this Program Statement are contained in 28

CFR 551.150-153.

5. STANDARDS REFERENCED

a. American Correctional Association 3rd Edition Standards

for Adult Correctional Institutions: 3-4393-1

b. American Correctional Association 3rd Edition Standards

for Adult Local Detention Facilities: 3-ALDF-4G-08

c. American Correctional Association 2nd Edition Standards

for Administration of Correctional Agencies: 2-CO-4G-02

6. AUTOMATED VICTIM NOTIFICATION SYSTEM (VNS) BACKGROUND. The

Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that

victims/witnesses are treated fairly as their case moves through

the Federal Criminal Justice System. In order to provide victims

with notification and information about case events, the

Department of Justice has developed the National Victim

Notification System (VNS). The VNS program was established as a

result of a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of

Investigation (FBI), the Executive Office for the United States

Attorneys, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

VNS links the FBI, all Assistant U.S. Attorney’s offices (AUSA),

and the BOP through the Department of Justice Intranet, and

allows these three agencies to share victim information. The

system contains the names of all identified victims of Federal

crimes. Victim(s) information is entered into the system at the

time they are identified following the commission of a crime.

The information is used to make notification(s) during the

arrest, arraignment, prosecutorial, and confinement phases.

Once an offender is convicted and assigned a U.S. Marshals number

(register number), case information is electronically forwarded

to SENTRY to determine if the inmate is in Federal custody. If

the inmate information is in SENTRY and there is a match (inmate

register number and last name), SENTRY will automatically assign

the VWP Case Management Assignment (CMA) to the inmate’s

information.

Every 24 hours, SENTRY will update the VNS database, and when

necessary, VNS will generate a victim notification request to the

inmate’s assigned Case Manager.

All VWP notifications will be accomplished using VNS, and will

also include U.S. Military inmates, state boarders, District of

Columbia Superior Court cases, and U.S. Parole Commission cases.

PS 1490.06

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At no time are staff permitted to delete victims from VNS.

7. PRETRIAL/HOLDOVER AND/OR DETAINEES. Procedures required by

this Program Statement ordinarily do not apply to these inmates.

Victim notification is required in accordance with Section 12 of

this Program Statement when an inmate with a VWP assignment in

SENTRY, in pretrial, holdover or detainer status, releases from

custody, escapes, or dies while confined in a BOP institution.

8. INMATE VICTIMS. Inmates who are enrolled in the VWP as a

result of being the victim of a Federal crime require the

earliest possible notice of release related events involving an

incarcerated offender. However, the notification time frames

required by this Program Statement ordinarily do not apply to

inmate victims since staff must take into consideration any

security concerns which jeopardizes the inmate victim’s or the

offender’s safety while incarcerated.

If staff are aware that the victim is an inmate, the inmate

victim will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis in an attempt to

minimize the risk involved in completing notifications. It may

be determined that notification prior to an event occurring would

be a greater security concern for the inmate’s involved.

9. [DEFINITIONS §551.151

a. For purpose of this rule, "victim" is generally defined as

someone who suffers direct or threatened physical, emotional, or

financial harm as the result of the commission of a crime. The

term "victim" also includes the immediate family of a minor or a

homicide victim.

b. For purpose of this rule, "witness" is defined as someone

who has information or evidence concerning a crime, and provides

information regarding this knowledge to a law enforcement agency.

Where the witness is a minor, the term "witness" includes an

appropriate family member. The term "witness" does not include

defense witnesses or those individuals involved in the crime as a

perpetrator or accomplice.

c. For purpose of this rule, "serious crime" is defined as a

criminal offense that involves personal violence, attempted or

threatened personal violence or significant property loss.

d. For purpose of this rule, the phrase “release from a Bureau

institution” refers to an inmate's furlough, parole (including

appearance before the Parole Commission), transfer to a state or

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local detention facility, transfer to a community corrections

center, mandatory release, expiration of sentence, escape

(including apprehension), death, and other such release-related

information.]

This also applies to inmates serving a concurrent Federal

sentence in a state or local facility. Refer to Section 10.a. of

this Program Statement for specific notification procedures

regarding state concurrency cases. Inmates who are transferred

from a BOP institution to a local detention facility on a

temporary basis for disciplinary or other reasons, do not require

notification.

e. Federal inmates housed in state facilities (state boarders)

or community corrections centers (CCC) are the responsibility of

the appropriate Community Corrections Manager (CCM). In these

situations, the terms “Warden”, “Unit Manager” and “Community

Corrections Manager” are synonymous.

f. "VWP" refers to a CMA assignment assigned to an inmate

who has victims. Central Office VWP staff approve and enter into

SENTRY all “VWP*” assignments for an inmate who has a BOP staff

member as a victim.

g. Limited System User (LSU) refers to the Case Manager,

Community Corrections Case Manager or Unit Manager who has system

capability to read victim information and generate notifications

for inmates on their assigned case load.

h. Full System User (FSU) refers to the Victim/Witness

Coordinator (VWC) or CCM who has system capability to read,

generate reports, approve/cancel notification, create victim

records, update victim information, and add inmates to VNS.

i. Institution VNS Administrator refers to the Computer

Services Manager whose responsibilities in VNS will include

updating user ID’s, assigning passwords and a reporting office,

granting office access rights, and ensuring that the

institution’s telephone and fax numbers, etc., are entered for

each user.

10. CENTRAL OFFICE VICTIM/WITNESS STAFF. Central Office VWP

staff are located in the Correctional Programs Branch and serve

as the Bureau’s point of contact for victim/witness issues and

procedures. They are also the primary liaison to Department of

Justice staff, other law enforcement agencies, and the public.

PS 1490.06

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Central Office VWP staff will enter the VWP assignment and victim

information on U.S. Military inmates, District of Columbia

Superior Court cases, and U.S. Parole Commission cases.

a. State Concurrency Cases. Inmates identified as VWP cases

serving a concurrent Federal sentence in a state facility will be

assigned a VWP CMA assignment. Central Office VWP staff will

complete notifications in the following manner (see Attachment E,

G):

! Forward a copy of the notification to the victim within

30 calendar days after VNS posts the notification. A

copy of the letter must be forwarded to the appropriate

Regional Inmate Systems Administrator (RISA).

! Forward a copy of the notification to the appropriate

official in the state department of corrections

confining the inmate, along with a copy of the

Department of Justice Victim Notification System

Pamphlet.

! Mail all letters via regular mail.

b. Witness Security Inmates. The Inmate Monitoring Section,

Central Office, coordinates all notification procedures for

Witness Security inmates with a VWP CMA assignment. The Case

Management Coordinator (CMC) at the facility where the Witness

Security inmate is housed will contact the Inmate Monitoring

Section, Central Office, to ensure proper notifications are made

to the victim(s).

c. All victim/witness contact changes (i.e., address, phone

numbers, fax numbers, etc.) must be sent to the Correctional

Programs Branch, Unit Management Section, Central Office, to

ensure the changes are entered into VNS on all linked victims.

11. INSTITUTION VICTIM/WITNESS COORDINATOR (VWC). Each Warden

will designate a VWC, ordinarily not below the department head

level, to provide technical expertise, monitor, and train staff

on VWP and VNS.

If a notification is inadvertently sent to a Case Manager other

than the inmate’s Case Manager, the following steps will occur:

a. Unit staff will update the case manager assignment in

SENTRY;

b. Unit staff will notify the VWC of the CSW change;

PS 1490.06

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c. The VWC will cancel the first notification; and

d. The VWC will recreate a notification for the appropriate

Case Manager.

12. ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM. Each victim is assigned a Victim

Identification Number (VIN) and a Personal Identification Number

(PIN) which allows them to access the automated system. When a

victim contacts unit staff and indicates that they have lost

their VIN or PIN, unit staff will regenerate an initial letter

and forward it to the victim at the address contained in VNS.

13. NOTIFICATION [PROCEDURES §551.152

a. A victim and/or witness of a serious crime who wants to be

notified of a specific inmate's release must make this request to

the United States Attorney in the district where the prosecution

occurred. Requests for notification received by the Bureau of

Prisons directly from a victim and/or witness will be referred to

the U.S. Attorney in the district of prosecution for approval.

b. Institution staff shall promptly notify the victim and/or

witness when his or her request for notification has been

received. Staff shall advise each approved victim and/or witness

of that person's responsibility for notifying the Bureau of

Prisons of any address and/or telephone number changes.]

c. Types of Notifications and Time Frames. All notifications

will be made by using the template in VNS. The letters created

by the template must not be altered in any way that will affect

their content or overall appearance.

However, the Victim and Witness Notice form (BP-323) may be

completed as needed for the appropriate notification. The

initial notification letter must include a copy of the Department

of Justice Victim Notification System Pamphlet.

Initial and subsequent All notifications will be sent via

regular mail. with the exception of escape notifications, which

must be mailed via certified mail, return receipt requested.

The “Contact Preferences” option may only be used for initial

designation notifications.

The Unit Manager is responsible for ensuring that notifications

are timely and accurate in the following circumstances:

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(1) Initial Notification. VNS will create a pending initial

notification (initial designation) once the inmate’s sentence

computation has been completed. Unit staff will complete the

initial notification to the victim(s) within 30 calendar days of

the date the notification was posted on VNS. All initial

notifications (initial designation) can be made using the

“Contact Preferences” option which allows the preferred

notification method of the victim to be used when processing this

type of notification.

If the victim’s preferred method of notification is a

letter, the victim will also be provided a copy of the Department

of Justice Victim Notification System Pamphlet which contains a

brief description of VNS procedures and instructions for

accessing the Victim Notification Call Center.

If Central Office staff or the institution VWC enters a

victim into VNS, an initial notification (initial BOP) will be

generated in VNS. In this type of notification, staff cannot use

the “Contact Preferences” option for providing notification.

Unit staff will complete an initial notification letter and mail

it with the Department of Justice Victim Notification System

Pamphlet, to the victim(s) within 30 calendar days of the date

the notification was posted on VNS.

If the “Contact Preferences” option is utilized for initial

designation notifications, unit staff will retrieve from VNS and

review a Call Tracing Report and a Notification Report by the

next work day to ensure each victim received notification. If

the victim’s preferred method of contact was unsuccessful, staff

must follow-up with an initial notification letter to the victim.

The Call Tracing Report and the Notification Report used for

verification of the completed contact will be maintained in the

Privacy Folder, Section I of the Inmate Central File.

(2) Parole Hearings. Pending parole notifications will be

created by VNS 60 calendar days in advance of the date of the

anticipated parole hearing. Unit staff must mail the

notification letter(s) to the victim(s) 30 calendar days in

advance of the parole hearing.

VNS uses the parole hearing date entered in the SENTRY

Parole Hearing Update transaction to create the parole hearing

notification. Therefore, it is essential that unit staff update

the parole hearing date in SENTRY in order to receive

notifications from VNS. For example, if the Case Manager enters

a parole hearing date of “09-2001,” VNS will read this as

“09-01-2001,” and will forward a notification to the Case Manager

on 07-01-2001.

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VNS does not automatically create pending notifications for

record review hearings, therefore, unit staff are required to

manually create the pending notification(s) utilizing the BP-323

form within VNS. Notification to the victim(s) will ordinarily

occur nine months prior to the Presumptive Parole date, which

coincides with when the record review Progress Report is mailed

to the U.S. Parole Commission.

Additionally, unit staff must prepare a memorandum to the

U.S. Parole Commission (Attachment A) indicating a victim (not to

be specifically identified) may wish to submit written comments

or attend the hearing. This memorandum must be included in the

review material provided to the Parole Examiners before the

hearing.

(3) Escapes. Unit staff must notify each victim by

telephone as soon as possible after the escape is discovered and

confirmed (normally the same day), and provide the date and time

of a VWP inmate’s escape. If there are multiple victims in the

case, unit staff may contact the VNS Call Center via fax using

the Escape/Immediate Release/Call Cancellation form (Attachment

H) to initiate the telephonic notification system.

If telephonic contact is not possible, unit staff will

complete the notification process by forwarding a BP-323 form to

the victim by the next work day via certified mail, return

receipt requested VNS. If telephonic contact is made, unit

staff will complete the VNS notification process by forwarding a

BP-323 form to the victim within seven calendar days via

certified mail, return receipt requested the notification

preference.

When the VNS Call Center is utilized to process the

notification(s), unit staff will review a Call Tracing Report

retrieved from VNS for that case by the next work day to ensure

each victim received notification. The Call Tracing Report will

be maintained in the Privacy Folder, Section I of the Inmate

Central File. If the system is unable to contact the victim(s),

unit staff will follow-up with Directory Assistance and/or

alternate contacts, to obtain the correct telephone number and

contact the victim immediately.

The sending institution is responsible for notification(s)

for escapes which occur during an unescorted transfer. If an

escape occurs while a VWP inmate is housed in a CCC or a state

contractual facility, the CCM is responsible for notifying the

victim(s) as soon as the escape is confirmed (normally the same

day).

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Once the CCM or Unit Manager receives information that the

inmate has been apprehended, the victims/witnesses will be

notified of the apprehension. The CCM or Unit Manager are

responsible for ensuring the BP-323 form is mailed as soon as

possible, but no later than 30 calendar days after receiving

notification of apprehension. The date the inmate was

apprehended and current location or designation, if known, will

be indicated on the BP-323 form (section 8). The CCM will

forward copies of the BP-323 form to the parent institution to be

included in the Privacy Folder, Section I of the Inmate Central

File.

(4) Furloughs/Unescorted Transfers. VNS does not

automatically create pending notifications for furloughs or

unescorted transfers, therefore, unit staff are required to

manually create the pending notification(s) within VNS.

Completion of the BP-323 form for unescorted transfers will

include the institution’s name and address, and the date of the

transfer. Completion of the BP-323 form for an inmate approved

for a furlough will only include the city and state, and the

dates the furlough will take place.

If circumstances do not permit advance written notification,

unit staff will furnish the BP-323 information to the victim(s)

by telephone. If telephonic notification is not possible, unit

staff must document all efforts made to contact the victim on the

Victim Notification Record (Attachment B).

(5) Inmate Death. VNS will notify unit staff within 24

hours of SENTRY being updated to reflect the inmate is deceased.

Unit staff will forward a BP-323 form to the victim within 30

calendar days.

(6) Transfer to a Community Corrections Center. VNS will

automatically forward notification to unit staff once a CCC

acceptance date has been entered by community corrections staff.

Unit staff will complete a BP-323 form. This BP-323 form is

considered final notification and will be forwarded to the

victim(s) via regular mail. When written notification to the

victim will not likely arrive in advance of the CCC transfer,

telephonic contact with each victim will be made.

Ordinarily, the notification of CCC placement is the final

BP-323 notification to the victim/witness; however, if an event

(escape, death, immediate release) in the CCC occurs, the CCM

will send additional notifications to the victim/witness. CCM’s

are prohibited from forwarding victim/witness information to CCC

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staff, therefore, CCM staff will notify the victim/witness when

the VWP inmate is released on furlough while at the CCC, using

the same notification procedures outlined in Section 12.c.(4) of

this Program Statement.

(7) Release to the Street. VNS will create a final release

notification within 60 calendar days of the inmate’s projected

release date. Within 30 calendar days of receipt of this

notification, unit staff will forward a completed BP-323 form to

the victim via regular mail.

Telephonic contact must be made when the inmate’s release is

unexpected and/or immediate (i.e., court-ordered release, etc.).

Unit staff may contact the VNS Call Center via fax using the

Escape/Immediate Release/Call Cancellation form (Attachment H) to

initiate the telephone notification system. Unit staff will

complete the notification process by forwarding a BP-323 form to

the victim/witness by the next work day via regular mail.

When the VNS Call Center is utilized to process the

notification(s), unit staff will review a Call Tracing Report

retrieved from VNS for that case by the next work day to ensure

each victim received notification. The Call Tracing Report will

be maintained in the Privacy Folder, Section I of the Inmate

Central File.

If the system is unable to contact the victim(s), unit staff

will follow-up with Directory Assistance and/or alternate

contacts, to obtain the correct telephone number and contact the

victim immediately.

A completed BP-323 form must also be forwarded to the

victims/witnesses for those inmates releasing to detaining

authorities (INS, other state or local law enforcement detaining

authorities, treaty transfer to a foreign country, etc.) via

regular mail.

(8) Compassionate Release. VNS does not automatically

create pending notifications for compassionate release

consideration, therefore, unit staff are required to manually

create the pending notification within VNS.

During the institution’s review of the inmate’s request for

compassionate release, the unit staff must notify the victims and

solicit comments to be incorporated into the Wardens referral

memorandum in accordance with the Program Statement on

Compassionate Release, Procedures for Implementation of

18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) and 4205(g).

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(9) Writs. Unit staff are not required to notify

victims/witnesses when a VWP inmate is temporarily released on

writ to other law enforcement authorities, or an escorted trip.

In the event of an escape or death of an inmate temporarily

released on Federal writ, unit staff from the holding institution

must make the required notifications. All other writ cases will

require unit staff from the parent institution to make the

required notifications in accordance with Section 13.c.(3) and

(5) of this Program Statement.