In DUI cases, judges often have concerns about alcoholism and the possibility that the offender will keep drinking and getting into trouble. A SCRAM (secure continuous remote alcohol monitoring) bracelet is one of the tools judges have to guard against this kind of recidivism.
What Is an Alcohol Monitoring Ankle or Wrist ("SCRAM") Bracelet?
SCRAM devices are ankle or wrist bracelets that detect and report the alcohol consumption of the wearer. These bracelets—sometimes called “CAM” (continuous alcohol monitoring) devices—are frequently ordered by courts in cases where the defendant was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) or some other alcohol-related offense.
When Do Courts Require SCRAM Devices?
A judge who wants to prohibit a defendant from using alcohol might require a SCRAM device:
- as a pretrial condition of release from jail, and/or
- after a conviction as a condition of probation.
SCRAMs give courts an easy way to continuously monitor a defendant who’s out in the community. After all, it wouldn’t be practical to send pretrial supervisors or probation officers to defendants’ homes to test for alcohol use. And it wouldn’t be cost-effective (or logical) to keep DUI offenders in jail just to keep them sober.
Pretrial Uses of Alcohol Monitoring Devices
In some cases, a judge will release a defendant from jail only if the defendant agrees to wear a SCRAM bracelet. In other words, the SCRAM device is a condition of pretrial release. With a SCRAM, the judge has assurances that the defendant won’t be drinking—and getting into alcohol-related trouble—while the case is pending.
Pretrial SCRAM conditions are most common in cases where the judge considers the defendant to be a high-risk offender who needs to be closely monitored. For instance, a judge might require a pretrial SCRAM for a defendant who has multiple prior DUIs.
Alcohol Monitoring as a Condition of DUI Probation
Depending on the circumstances, a court might also require a defendant to wear a SCRAM bracelet after conviction as a condition of probation. And specialty programs like DUI courts often use SCRAM devices to monitor program participants for continued sobriety.
As with pretrial SCRAMs, courts generally order SCRAM probation conditions only for repeat and high-risk offenders. First offenders, on the other hand, typically don’t have to use SCRAM devices.
How Much Do SCRAM Bracelets Cost?
If a court orders you to wear a SCRAM device, you’ll feel it—on your ankle and in your wallet. Courts usually require defendants to pay for the installation and monitoring of these devices.
Costs vary, but generally, SCRAM monitoring isn’t cheap. There’s typically an installation cost of between $50 and $100. And with daily monitoring fees ranging from $10 to $15, the monthly costs can easily get up to $300 or more.
How Do SCRAM Bracelets Work?
When you drink alcohol, your liver processes most but not all of it. You also sweat a small portion of the alcohol out through your pores. A SCRAM bracelet—which attaches to the ankle—has a fuel-cell sensor that sits on the skin and measures the concentration of the alcohol by taking samples of vapor perspiration at regular intervals. This skin-level measurement is called the “transdermal” alcohol concentration.
Using a built-in modem, the device transmits the transdermal alcohol concentration readings to the monitoring service provider. The service provider then converts the transdermal concentration to a blood alcohol concentration (BAC). If a reading indicates the bracelet wearer has been drinking, the provider typically notifies the court of the person’s BAC reading.
Is It Possible to Fool a SCRAM Bracelet?
According to the companies that manufacture them, fooling SCRAM devices is hard to do. SCRAM bracelets notify the service provider of attempts to deceive or tamper with the device. Common ways people try to circumvent SCRAM bracelets include:
- blocking the skin sensor
- directly exposing the sensor to alcohol (such as by pouring a drink on it) to mask alcohol consumption, and
- removing the device altogether.
Chances are, if you attempt to do any of these things, the SCRAM device will send a “tamper event” message to the monitoring service. The court might consider any tamper alert a violation.
Are SCRAM Bracelets Accurate?
SCRAM bracelets are designed to send an alert when they detect a certain level of alcohol in the wearer's perspiration. SCRAM bracelets generally don't have significant issues with false positives (sending an alert when the wearer has not been drinking). Most of the errors that occur with SCRAM devices are related to false negatives, meaning the device doesn't detect alcohol even though the wearer has been drinking.
It's also theoretically possible that the use of a product (like perfume and lotions) that contains alcohol could trigger a SCRAM bracelet. But according to SCRAM device manufacturers, errors of this type are highly unlikely.
Talk to a DUI Attorney in Your Area
If you have questions about how SCRAM bracelets are used in your area, get in contact with a qualified DUI lawyer. The laws of each state are different, but an experienced DUI attorney should be able to explain how things work in your area.