Fearful of a criminal offender? Not sure if he’s in or out of jail? Mono County Sheriff Rick Scholl and launched an automated system for citizens to get answers by phone or internet.

It’s called Vine/Savin. You call 1-877-411-5588, give the offender’s name, date of birth or age. The system tells you if the person is in or out of custody and then will register the caller for automatic notification about a particular offender.

Live operators are available or you can go online to www.vinelink.com. Sheriff Scholl called this system very user-friendly.

This is a nationwide service used in more than 40 states to keep track of criminal offenders.