The Benefits of SCRAMx
In this section:
SCRAMx offers significant advantages to the courts and supervising agencies that use them, as well as to the offenders themselves. Some of the key benefits of SCRAMx include:
Continuous Alcohol Monitoring + House Arrest
Enforceable Offender Accountability
Scientifically-Proven Technology
Court Acceptance
Flexible, Exception-Based Reporting
Non-Invasive Automated Testing
Evidence-Based Assessment and Detection
Improved Outcomes
Cost Effectiveness
Continuous Alcohol Monitoring + House Arrest
While blood and breath tests only measure sobriety at a specific point in time, SCRAMx samples the offender’s sweat every half hour. This gives you complete 24/7 coverage, rather than just a snapshot look at when your offenders are on their best behavior.
Now with CAM and house arrest together in one device, the integrated benefits of SCRAMx let you:
- Heighten accountability by detecting both alcohol consumption and an offender’s presence in the home
- Reduce workload and streamline operations by eliminating the redundancies of setting up and managing two separate devices
- Flexibly supervise offenders based on behavior using the SCRAMx Adjustable Contingency Model
- Allow those offenders who are not a threat to the community when sober to earn jail credit for time served while being continuously monitored
Enforceable Offender Accountability
Since SCRAMx gives you complete, around-the-clock data on whether or not your offenders are consuming alcohol, they can’t drink around testing schedules or lie about their actions. In fact, SCRAMx makes it very difficult for them to consume alcohol or tamper with the device without being caught. It’s all there in black and white – and your offenders know that you know what they’re doing every hour of the day.
And now with house arrest functionality, you can monitor offenders for compliance with court-mandated curfew schedules, which also increases their accountability to the judge’s orders.
Scientifically-Proven Technology
SCRAMx is based on scientifically-proven continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring technology, which is the result of more than 70 years of research and 22 peer-reviewed studies. Some of these studies include those conducted by the:
- Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF)
- University of Colorado Health Science Center
- Michigan Department of Corrections
- Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center
If the offender has been drinking, SCRAMx will detect varying levels of ethanol to qualitatively determine alcohol consumption – showing whether the offender has consumed a small, moderate, or substantial amount of alcohol.
Court Acceptance
Continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring technology (the basis of SCRAMx) has been accepted in evidentiary hearings across the country, with most resulting in favorable Frye or Daubert rulings.
AMS has an excellent track record of defending SCRAMx in numerous court cases, and the vast majority of judges hearing cases involving SCRAMx have recognized that the device is accurate, reliable, and generally accepted.
Flexible Reporting
SCRAMx’s flexible reporting functionality lets you specify how you want to receive information on each monitored offender – from full historical data to exception-based reporting. Either way, you receive the data you need on who offended, when they offended, and the level of alcohol they consumed.
Non-Invasive, Automated Testing
Because SCRAMx’s testing process is automated, it requires no labor on your part or appointments to administer tests. Once it’s installed on the offender’s ankle, it does all the work for you.
For probation or courts juggling huge caseloads, SCRAMx is an incredibly effective way to manage hundreds of offenders right from your desk. And from an offender standpoint, SCRAMx is physically non-invasive and is minimally disruptive on daily activities.
Evidence-Based Assessment and Detection
SCRAMx is an effective assessment tool that lets you better gauge offender drinking patterns and evaluate addiction levels to tailor individualized treatment programs.
The SCRAMx bracelet can conclusively distinguish between ingested and environmental alcohol due to our controlled sample delivery system. This is key to courts because if the product can’t distinguish whether the offender drank or came into contact with an environmental alcohol source, then judges would not be able to make enforceable, evidence-based decisions.
Improved Outcomes
We are very proud that SCRAMx has made such a profound difference in so many lives, families, and communities across the country.
SCRAMx helps improve offender outcomes by:
- Helping lower recidivism (by 45% in repeat DUI offenders who wore SCRAMx for 90 days or more)
- Providing better responses to treatment when combined with SCRAMx
- Letting offenders maintain family obligations, hold jobs, and contribute positively to the community
Cost Effective, Automated Testing
Transdermal testing has a low cost per test, so multiple tests can be administered for the same cost as one blood or breath test. Using SCRAMx also costs significantly less than incarceration.
- Offers a low cost per test
- Costs significantly less than incarceration
- Requires no labor after installation or appointments to administer tests
- Is physically non-invasive and minimally disruptive on the offender’s daily activities
SCRAMx Adjustable Contingency Model
