About the Victim Notification Program

The Criminal Division is committed to ensuring that victims of federal crime are treated with dignity, fairness and respect throughout their involvement in the federal criminal justice system, and that they receive the rights and services to which they are entitled under federal law. One of the ways that the Criminal Division achieves this goal is through the Victim Notification System (VNS), which provides free automated electronic and written notification to victims of federal crime regarding the status of their cases. The Criminal Division works with the United States Attorney's Offices in implementing VNS and addressing the needs of crime victims during the prosecution stage of the federal court process.

In a small number of criminal cases prosecuted by the Criminal Division in Washington, D.C. it will not be possible or practical to use VNS; those cases will be listed under Pending Criminal Division Cases on the left hand side of your screen. Information about upcoming hearing dates, if any are scheduled, and the name of the judge handling the case will be provided.  You can also obtain information about the next public hearing in your case from the Clerk's Office in the courthouse where the hearing is scheduled.

A list of the Victim-Witness Liaisons for each Section of the Criminal Division and their contact information can be accessed on the left hand side of your screen.

For information about Victim Impact Statements or Restitution, select the applicable hyperlink on the left-hand side of the screen. 

The Victim-Witness Program Brochure provides additional important information about services, information available to you, and the investigation process.

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE VICTIM NOTIFICATION PROGRAM

Where possible, all victim information and notifications in criminal cases that have been accepted for prosecution from federal investigative agencies are made available (in both English and Spanish) by means of the Department of Justice's Victim Notification System (VNS). VNS is a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Attorney's Offices, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Criminal Division. This free, automated, computer-based system provides federal crime victims with information on scheduled court events, as well as the outcome of those court events. It also provides victims with information on the offender's custody status and release.

In addition to the electronic and written notifications generated through VNS, victims in these cases who have already received by mail a special PIN number, which at this time does not include all the Criminal Division cases described in the preceding paragraph, can obtain automated status information by calling the VNS Call Center at 1-866-365-4968 (1-866-DOJ-4YOU) and/or by accessing the VNS Internet site at https://www.notify.usdoj.gov/index.jsp. A Victim ID# and PIN# are required to access the VNS Call Center or VNS Internet site.