VINE: Free Release Notification

Another way we earn the 56% and make it grow

In 2020, 56.4% of California voters stood with us and kept bail. I believe we keep earning that by doing the right thing on our own, without waiting for a new law to make us.

But the next battle over bail won't always be about saving taxpayers money. Numbers get flipped, argued over, and hidden, and sometimes people simply believe the wrong ones. What nobody can argue with is proof. We have to show people what we already know: we don't just get people out of jail. We help. That includes protecting the people who got hurt.

Here's one simple way to start: VINE.

What VINE is

VINE (vinelink.com) is a free notification system. Anyone can sign up to be alerted when a person is released from jail, by text, phone call, or email. It's free and anonymous, and it covers most California counties.

Two ways VINE already works for you

1. Finding your defendant. When you can't find someone because of crossed names, multiple names, or names that get flipped or run together, type just a few letters into VINE. I've often found the person in VINE when I couldn't find them on the sheriff's website, and it helps me get the spelling right.

2. Knowing when your client walks out. Register your own clients so you know the minute they're released. You haven't earned your money until they walk out.

The third way: give it to every cosigner

Give the VINE information to every cosigner who fills out an application. You never know what goes on. A cosigner can come in ready to bond someone out, then wait hours for the release. At county, that can be eight hours or more. A bad phone call, a bad situation, or something new can come up while they wait. These are people's domestic issues, so don't assume anything. And on every domestic violence bond, make sure the cosigner has it.

Here's a real one. A wife called me to bond out her husband on a domestic violence arrest. Their finances were together, they couldn't afford to lose the house, and he had to be at work the next day. There was a temporary restraining order, and she didn't want to deal with him. So I dealt with him, figured out where he'd stay, and gave her the VINE information so she'd know the minute he was out.

Most people don't know VINE exists. We can change that. We're the ones sitting across the table from the family on the worst night of their lives. Add this box to your bond paperwork, and everyone who signs with you learns about it, every time:

En español:

Don't want to change your forms? Download the free one-page client handout (English and Spanish, no company name). Print two copies. Hand one to the client, have them sign the other, and keep it in your file.

Add it once, and every bond carries it. Then, when someone asks what bail agents do to protect people, we can say: we did this.

How to use VINE (step by step)

1. 1.Go to vinelink.com, or download the VINELink app.
2. 2.Choose California.
3. 3.Search by name. A partial name works. You can also search by booking number.
4. 4.Click the person when you find them.
5. 5.Choose how you want to be notified: text, phone call, or email.
6. 6.Make up your own 4-digit PIN, anything you'll remember, even 1234.
7. 7.Why the PIN matters: when the person is released, VINE keeps notifying you over and over until you enter your PIN. If it comes in at 2 a.m., it keeps waking you up. Enter your PIN, and it stops.

Where VINE came from

VINE started after a tragedy. In 1993, in Louisville, Kentucky, Mary Byron was murdered on her 21st birthday by an ex-boyfriend who had been released from jail. Her family had asked to be notified when he got out, and nobody called. Local officials and a Louisville company built VINE so it wouldn't happen again. In 1996, Kentucky became the first state with automatic statewide notification. Today VINE runs in 46 states and has sent more than 800 million notifications.

When someone is released, the people who need to know should know. Agents can make sure the people we serve know VINE exists, without slowing anyone's release and without a new law. Just better service.

— Chad Conley, Chad Conley Bail Bonds