GRAINGER COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) – A vital tool for crime victims is giving them information they normally wouldn’t have – potentially saving lives.

It’s a notification service called SAVIN, which stands for Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification system. The Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association educated East Tennessee law enforcement Friday on how to use it.

“It’s a program that empowers crime victims by giving them information that they normally wouldn’t have,” said Gary Cordell with the Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association.

The tool allows someone to track an inmate. That includes when he or she is leaving jail, gets transferred, escapes or even passes away.

A SAVIN training session happened Friday in Grainger County. The sheriff there said it’s important opportunity for his department.

“To get the word out to crime victims that this tool is available to them,” said Sheriff James Harville.

The tool is automated, anonymous and the inmate never knows you’re tracking them, the Sherriffs’ Association says, which is particularly important for domestic violence victims.

“You can prepare, you can go to a safe house, you may have to arm yourself, but you can take action because you’re going to know ahead of time. It’s not going to be that you’re blindsided or that lying awake at night not knowing when that individual is going to get out,” Cordell said.

SAVIN is also free. It gathers offender information from all of the 95 Tennessee County jails. The people providing the service say that knowledge is powerful.

You can access SAVIN online here or by calling 1-888-868-4631.