If you make bad choices with alcohol, you may encounter some new technology – an ankle bracelet that detects alcohol. Actually that’s much more convenient than the old days when the court could order antabuse pills. With antabuse, you had to go to a treatment center every day and take a pill in the presence of a counselor.

SCRAM is short for Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring. SCRAM bracelets attach to a person’s ankle and look for the presence of alcohol in sweat. SCRAM bracelet programs are a form of continuous alcohol monitoring with the benefit of not requiring frequent in-person check-ins to test for alcohol use.

SCRAM bracelets work by monitoring the wearer’s perspiration every 30 minutes. The device is similar to a Breathalyzer by determining the level of alcohol, if any, in the person’s body. Results are uploaded via modem and monitored by the private company.

Alcohol — or ethanol — tests can detect alcohol metabolites in urine, breath, saliva, sweat and blood for between two and 80 hours. Many people believe that an alcohol metabolite called ethyl glucuronide can be detected by ETG tests for about 80 hours.

The cost of incarcerating a person far outweighs the cost of an ankle monitor and house arrest. Putting a person in prison can cost over $20,000 a year, while house arrest only costs about $6,000 per year. 2. The Wearer Has To Help Pay For The Privilege of an Ankle Monitor.

Usually, the wearer has to pay for the cost of the monitor and a daily use fee. Some court systems charge on a sliding scale based on income and ability to pay. Others have a set fee of about $5-15 per day plus a setup fee as high as $200.

Alexander Truluck focuses his practice as a criminal defense attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.criminallawyerclearwaterflorida.com
or call (727) 799-3550.