Breaking The Cycle Of Dwi’s
In 2004, Dallas Judge Vickers Cunningham began employing the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM) to fight and keep track of the alcoholic drinking behavior of individuals on probation.
The monitor, an ankle bracelet that detects alcohol consumption, is among the new technology and programs being used by judges nationally to monitor individuals who drive after drinking.
Cunningham calls SCRAM the best technology he has ever used in combating this problem. SCRAM detects alcohol by testing unseen sweat emissions. In addition, the device notifies the monitoring agency if it has been tampered with.
SCRAM, however, is often too costly for limited probation office budgets, and Cunningham sometimes has his defendants pay the company that provides it, Recovery Healthcare, themselves.
DWI courts are also becoming more popular in this country. The program is directed at people who have multiple alcohol-related violations. Judges typically earmark a day or afternoon to hear, oversee, and judge defendants who have appeared in court repeatedly.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Dallas Morning News (11/26/05) P. 1B; Formby, Brandon .
