Senate public safety panel reviews rollout of crime-victim notification system created by House Bill 2482

The Arizona Criminal Justice Commission told the Arizona State Senate Public Safety Committee on a presentation that House Bill 2482 created a crime victim notification fund and directed ACJC to expand its VINe and related notification tools for victims, and that a contractor was selected in July 2024 to build the statewide system.

“House bill 2482 created the crime victim notification fund and directed ACJC to expand its existing Vine network and also to include a system that would allow law enforcement agencies and prosecution agencies to access victims, a system that would allow victims to access information about where the process stood,” said Andrew Lefevre, director of the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission.

Why it matters: committee members heard that the system automates constitutionally required victim notifications, reduces repetitive calls to dispatch, and produces survey feedback law enforcement can use for supervision and training. Committee discussion centered on current coverage, costs and the need for possible additional funding in future legislative sessions.

Implementation, coverage and funding

Lefevre told the committee that, after a competitive procurement, VersaTerm with a partner was chosen July 17, 2024, and that ACJC received ADOA ITAC approval on Aug. 21, 2024. As of his report, 24 agencies have completed implementation; those agencies cover roughly 5,648 sworn officers, which Lefevre said represents about 40–47% of statewide coverage. An additional 15 agencies are under contract and undergoing installation and testing; those agencies would add roughly 29,100 sworn officers and bring coverage to about 71% of the state. Twelve more agencies are in the discovery phase.

Lefevre said the crime victim notification fund balance was $11,558,792 as of the end of December 2024, and that figure included a transfer from the treasurer’s office of $3,285,000 "that was left over from a previous bill." He said the legislature originally appropriated $10,000,000 and the treasurer transfer brought the total available funding to the amounts discussed during the briefing.

How agencies are using it

Ed DeCastro, assistant chief for investigations with the Phoenix Police Department, described Phoenix’s August 2024 rollout of the Community Connect product (formerly Spider Tech) and the integration with the Vine product used by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. “We recently went live with our community connect program through VersaTerm … and, though we had some growing pains in the beginning due to some of the complexities of the call volume that we have, we take approximately 2,000,000 calls per year in the city of Phoenix,” DeCastro said. He said Community Connect notifies callers about estimated arrival times or delays, reduces repeat ETA calls to dispatch, and sends follow-up surveys and case-status updates to victims.

Assistant Chief Mickey Peterson of the Tucson Police Department said Tucson has used the system for about three years. “It’s a constitutionally mandated process,” Peterson said, noting the system automates many victim-notification duties, frees record-room resources and produces survey feedback that commanders receive daily. He described surveys as a management tool that can flag training, policy or wellness issues for officers when scores drop.

Officials described the types of notifications victims receive — status updates about whether a case is open or closed, notices when the department is waiting on lab results, scheduling information such as court dates, and updates about a suspect’s custody status — and said the product includes links to resources and a survey after contact. DeCastro said the notification product is translated into six languages and that notifications provide “robust information” and resource links.

Questions from senators and staff

Committee members pressed officials on cost, coverage and how victims can seek recourse if they feel their case has stalled. Peterson described multiple complaint channels in Tucson — supervisors, chain of command, the office of professional standards, the independent police auditor or a ward office — and said survey responses are routed to division commanders for review.

Lefevre said the intent of the funding was to allow agencies statewide to adopt the system while the appropriation lasted, and that ACJC and agencies expect to return to the Legislature for further funding conversations given the program’s perceived value and some procurement-related cost issues.

Formal committee action

At the start of the meeting the committee adopted its rules as distributed. Senator Hilda Angus moved the rules be adopted; the motion carried by voice vote and the committee chair declared the rules adopted (voice vote; counts not specified in the transcript).

Ending

Committee members did not take a bill vote on implementation; the session featured an informational briefing and questions about rollout, coverage and funding. Committee staff and ACJC officials signaled they expect follow-up budget and policy conversations in upcoming legislative sessions.