Kentucky DUI Attorney Stephen Isaacs of Isaacs Law Office has learned that some Kentucky courts are considering sentencing alternatives to jail for DUI offenders. One such alternative involves continuous alcohol monitoring using a bracelet attached to an offender's leg.
Evidenced-Based Continuous Alcohol Monitoring with a SCRAM bracelet allows those accused or convicted of DUI to maintain their sobriety and possibly avoid jail, while increasing public safety, along with:
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Helping lower recidivism (by 45% in repeat DUI offenders who wore SCRAMx for 90 days or more)
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Providing better responses to treatment when combined with SCRAMx
- Letting offenders maintain family obligations, hold jobs, and contribute positively to the community
SCRAMx is more commonly used with repeat DUI/DWI offenders, but can also ordered on first-time offenders who have aggravated circumstances like an extremely high blood alcohol content (BAC). Courts may order DUI/DWI offenders on SCRAMx to not only deter them from drinking – and driving – for a specified time period, but also to assess their alcohol dependency levels to recommend individualized courses of treatment.
Key objectives of the SCRAMx DUI/DWI Program include:
- Protecting the public by monitoring DUI/DWI offenders 24/7
- Ensuring compliance with court-ordered terms of alcohol abstinence
- Promoting enforceable accountability
- Providing evidence-based data to support abstinence
- Assessing the offender’s alcohol dependency and drinking patterns
- Detecting if the offender drinks prior to trial to facilitate early intervention
- Helping offenders prove extended sobriety to be considered for driver’s license reinstatement
- Allowing the offender to maintain job and family obligations, and contribute positively to the community while awaiting trial
With regard to placing DUI/DWI offenders under house arrest in addition to alcohol monitoring, data from NHTSA’s Traffic Safety Facts 2008 shows how this approach makes perfect sense from a public safety standpoint. According to NHTSA, the prime hours for alcohol-impaired fatal crashes are between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am – the highest (64%) being from midnight to 3:00 am. Knowing that some of their higher-risk offenders may backslide during the evening hours, judges can impose curfews during that time to keep them off the roads and better protect the community. The SCRAMx monitors the DUI offender's compliance with the court imposed curfew.
