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How the SCRAM Tracks and Monitors Repeat DUI Offenders

Now Big Brother has devised a way to keep tabs on drunken drivers the SCRAM bracelet. The "SCRAM," or Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor, is a high-tech, alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet that is anything but sexy and glamorous; it is a bulky, 8-ounce device that is worn strapped around the ankle.

The SCRAM bracelet is a device specifically designed to monitor drunken drivers who are under judge's orders to maintain absolute sobriety. This happens, for example, when a repeat DUI offender is out on bail. More and more court systems across the country are using the SCRAM to ensure offender compliance. Here's how it works.

This monitoring ankle bracelet tracks and records any trace of alcohol its wearer may consume. It works by detecting ethanol in sweat through a process called "transdermal (through the skin) alcohol testing." When alcohol is consumed, almost 1% of it diffuses into body perspiration, and is secreted from the body. The bracelet can detect the slightest trace of alcohol in the sweat, but it does not record this the alcohol level reaches 0.02.

The SCRAM functions in conjunction with a wireless modem that installed in the offender's home. 24/7, the bracelet takes a reading of his/her alcohol level every 30 minutes or so, and the data is stored on a inside the bracelet. Once a day, they must get within thirty feet of the wireless modem so that this data is downloaded and transmitted to a monitoring service. Failing to download this information each day would be a breach of their probation.

The bracelet also comes armed with a laser beam sensor that renders it virtually tamper proof. This infrared sensor keeps track of the gap between the ankle and the bracelet. Say, for example, its wearer slipped something into this gap - the sensor would detect the change in distance and send a tampering alarm to alert the authorities.

It is worth noting that the SCRAM ankle bracelet does not transmit live reports; the data is sent out only once a day. In the meantime, the offender could go on a drinking binge, and the monitoring service would not know until much, much later. Or when he/she is once again arrested for a DUI.

Martin Tanz, a defense lawyer, is quoted as saying, "I guess the next step will be to wire it to the nearest police cruiser, and they'll come pick you up."
Hmmmnow, there's a thought!

Links
www.jsonline.com/ story/index.aspx
milbs06.newsvi ne.com/_news/2007/07/17/842024 -sobriety-shackles-a-closer-lo ok-at-lindsay-lohans-scram-bra celet-the-must-have-accessory- for-a-post-rehab-summer
www.alc oholmonitoring.com/products/br acelet.html

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