Judges throughout the United States are ordering young offenders charged with alcohol-related offenses to undergo constant alcohol monitoring. Many courts are requiring defendants who are under the age of 21 to wear SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring bracelets as a condition of being released from jail. While the young defendants await trial, they are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for alcohol consumption. Sobriety is generally a condition of release; the alcohol monitor ensures that the defendant is complying with that condition. Confirmed drinking events are immediately reported to the court and can result in automatic jail time.
The hope in requiring continuous alcohol monitoring is to reduce the rate of drunk driving recidivism. Too many young people are being seen time and time again in the same courtrooms for the same offenses. Requiring complete sobriety can be life changing, particularly for young offenders. The SCRAM CAM bracelets hold defendants accountable to their sobriety. The devices are tamper-resistant, any efforts to disable the device or prevent it from taking a reading are reported and considered a violation of the terms of release.
In addition to young offenders, those who are charged with their second or subsequent offense, those who are considered to have an underlying addiction or dependence on alcohol and those who are required to remain sober while on pretrial release may all be considered for alcohol-monitoring programs. Many collaborative courts (DUI Courts, Veteran Courts and Drug Courts) utilize SCRAM CAM technology to monitor offenders post-conviction or as a term of probation.