The DUI Scram Pprogram
Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles & Orange County DUI Criminal Lawyer & Attorney
There is a new alternative to jail available to the courts in dealing with multiple offender DUI cases. It is a program known as the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM).
FACTS
Due to the fact that the courts, and
the criminal justice system as a whole,
are feeling as though conventional
sanctions are not preventing repeat
DUI offenses, the corrections system
has been looking for new methods to
monitor, treat, and rehabilitate those
who commit repeat alcohol offenses.
Traditionally, the courts would simply
punish and educate those who showed
up with their second and third DUI
offenses. Now, they are turning to
more modern methods. SCRAM utilizes
transdermal alcohol testing to determine
a person’s blood alcohol content. This
means that the SCRAM device is able
to measure the amount of alcohol that
migrates through the skin (like sweat).
This method has been deemed a reliable
way of obtaining even minimal amounts
of alcohol consumption. SCRAM has been
designed to collect, store, and transmit
a subject’s alcohol level information
in a passive manner. Thus, the person
being monitored by SCRAM is aware that
they are wearing the SCRAM monitor
but doesn’t even know when they are
being tested, or how often. The courts
see this as a way to easily and cost-effectively
monitor those with multiple DUI offenses
without room for human error.
THE WAY IT WORKS
The SCRAM device is an ankle bracelet
that takes only minutes to set up and
is then worn 24/7. The actual SCRAM
ankle device weighs 8 oz. and is both
water and tamper resistant. The ankle
bracelet has two components:
1. A sensor pack, which measures ethanol
vapor as it migrates through the skin
to determine transdermal alcohol concentration.
These measurements are made on a pre-determined
schedule set up by the monitoring agency
and not known to the tested subject.
2. Electronics for tamper detection
and system control, as well as collecting,
storing, and transferring data. A tamper
detection strap acts as an electronic
link between the two parts and secures
the bracelet to the client’s ankle.
The person wearing the SCRAM ankle device is tracked by a central monitoring station. The supervising agency can set up and modify the testing schedule based on each individual. Anywhere from one (1) to forty eight (48) tests can be performed per day, without the client ever knowing they are occurring. Every reading SCRAM takes is date-stamped, time-stamped, and stored in a memory chip within the SCRAM bracelet until it is transmitted, via the SCRAM modem, to the SCRAM network. The SCRAM modem is set up in the client’s home and, at the times set by the supervising agency, will “communicate” with the ankle bracelet. In the event of a positive reading or a tamper alert alarm, the bracelet will register and store a reading and immediately attempt to make a connection with the modem. The data obtained will upload as soon as the client is within a readable range of the modem.
