Fairfax County officials are pushing to adopt a unique tool for combating alcohol-related crime — a device that constantly monitors the sweat of habitual alcohol offenders.
Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring technology requires alcohol abusers to wear a 3-ounce ankle bracelet that tests perspiration every 30 minutes.
Once a day, a modem in the offender’s home or office retrieves the data wirelessly and sends it to SCRAM headquarters. If alcohol is detected, SCRAM receives an alert and informs authorities of the violation.
County Supervisor Pat Herrity, R-Springfield, is leading the charge to bring SCRAM into the Fairfax County court system.
“SCRAM is not an alternative to incarceration,” Herrity said. “Rather, it is another tool that our judges could use in circumstances where an alcohol offender needs to be monitored but not necessarily incarcerated.”
Alex Reid, the president of Virginia Alcohol Monitoring, a company that provides the technology, says the device provides courts with an unprecedented level of accountability.
“Often judges order people not to drink, but they don’t have the tools to monitor and enforce it,” Reid said. “SCRAM allows for quick identification and response [to intoxication].”
According to Fairfax County DWI coordinator Jerry Stemler, county police made 8,842 alcohol-related arrests last year.
Chronic offenders often serve jail time — at a great cost to residents. Fairfax County jails cost taxpayers $107 per inmate per day.
SCRAM, in contrast, costs $12 per day and is funded by the offender. Virginia Alcohol Monitoring covers the expense for offenders who cannot afford the fee.
“SCRAM allows people to stay in the community and keep working, as opposed to costing taxpayers money sitting in jail,” Reid said. He estimates that courts in 46 states use the technology.
Loudoun and Rappahannock counties have adopted SCRAM with considerable success.
Officials in Loudoun’s courts estimate that SCRAM saved just under $1 million in 2008 and significantly reduced their workload.
According to Reid, 93 percent of offenders in Loudoun using SCRAM did not drink or tamper with their bracelets over 11 months.
The Fairfax County Oversight Committee on Drinking and Driving has endorsed SCRAM, but the chief judge of the circuit court must approve its use.
