Victorian Drug Court Magistrate Tony Parsons has made a parliamentary inquiry regarding the requirement for criminals to wear SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring bracelets. These devices would monitor alcohol consumption 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Currently a court may require an offender to wear an electronic monitoring device on a community corrections order but the devices are not being utilized to monitor alcohol consumption. Alcohol monitoring devices such as the SCRAM bracelet eliminate the doubt of whether a defendant is consuming alcohol. The devices are tamper-resistant and check for alcohol consumption every 30 minutes. Alcohol is tested by sweat excretion which is nearly imperceptible to any person. The devices are lightweight and water-resistant. The newest technology can determine the difference between ingested alcohol and an outside contaminant that may contain alcohol eliminating the likelihood of false-positives.
The SCRAM bracelet can serve the dual purpose of alcohol monitoring and house arrest. Mr. Parsons is asking that the Parliament support his recommendation. He is also asking for stricter bail for some offenders. Many courts are currently implementing the alcohol monitoring requirements. Drug courts have helped numerous individuals understand and cope with their dependency to drug and alcohol.