Victim Notification
After the defendant is charged with a federal crime, victims are entitled to be notified of public court proceedings. In most instances, victims will receive an initial letter from the U.S. Attorney's Office and subsequent letters as case events warrant. Occasionally, in cases involving large numbers of victims, alternative notification procedures may be used.
In addition to receiving notifications from the U.S. Attorney's Office, victims may: p
- Call the Victim Notification System (VNS) Center at 1-866-365-4968 for recorded information about the status of a case, using the Victim Identification Number (VIN) and Personal Identification Number (PIN) provided in the initial VNS letter from our office.
- Visit VNS's Web site www.notify.usdoj.gov to check the status of a case, using the VIN and PIN provided in our initial VNS letter from our office.
- Contact the Victim-Witness Program Manger at 1-800-848-0869 if the case is out of the Des Moines Office or the Victim-Witness Specialist at 1-888-464-8370 if the case is out of the Davenport Office or the Assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to the case.
- If a defendant is incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, further information may be obtained from the Bureau of Prisons web site at www.bop.gov. Click the "Inmate Locator" button, then search by the defendant's name.