What Is a SCRAM Device?

A SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) device is a technological monitor that tracks whether a wearer has consumed alcohol. The SCRAM CAM (Continuous Alcohol Monitoring) system will check someone’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) every 30 minutes. There is also a device known as a SCRAMx that features GPS location monitoring in addition to BAC readings. In California, these systems monitor individuals on probation, under house arrest, or serving a jail alternative sentence.

How Does a SCRAM Device Work?

A Colorado company formerly known as Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. developed an ankle bracelet that tests a person’s BAC. A SCRAM device is wearable tech that evaluates an individual’s sweat every thirty-minutes for the presence of alcohol. Monitoring continues 24/7 while the SCRAM bracelet is worn.

After you drink alcohol, your body will eliminate the waste through urine, breath, sweat, and saliva. Just as a breathalyzer tests your breath for the presence of alcohol, SCRAM checks if your sweat includes a measurable BAC. If the device registers alcohol in your sweat, it will remotely notify a local monitoring center. Transmissions typically occur daily. If someone is a high-risk offender, their monitoring may be more frequent.

Once the regional center has been notified you had alcohol in your system, they will inform the court.

Who Has To Wear a SCRAM Device?

California courts will typically order you to wear a SCRAM CAM if you are given DUI probation. Instead of sending you to jail, the judge will allow you to prove you are not a risk to the community. As a condition of your sentence, you will be ordered to not consume alcohol. The SCRAM device observes you to ensure you uphold the terms of your probation.

In the Los Angeles area, judges typically avoid ordering the use of a SCRAM device unless you have prior DUI convictions. One exception is if you have severe alcoholism.

Some other sentences and cases may order you to wear a SCRAM. These include:

• Releases on early parole due to overcrowded prisons.
• Domestic violence offenses where alcohol was a contributing factor.
• Specialty courts, such as drug or veterans’ programs.

If house-arrest is part of your sentence or release conditions, you may be ordered to wear a SCRAMx. In addition to alcohol monitoring, the SCRAMx can alert authorities if you leave a designated area through GPS.

What Happens If I Drink While Wearing a SCRAM?

An order to wear a SCRAM device can last from 30 days to up to a year. During this time, you will have to pay a daily rate for monitoring. Additionally, you will be ordered not to tamper with the bracelet. Everyone who has to wear a SCRAM or SCRAMx will receive information on how to ensure you do not accidentally trigger the device. For example, taking a bath can make the tech think it is being disabled, causing an alert.

Drinking alcohol while you are ordered to use a SCRAM can result in losing your freedom. Once a judge is notified that you violated your probation, sentence, or release conditions, they may order your arrest. At that point, you will be facing harsher penalties. A year or two in jail is possible. Judges are less inclined to grant you leniency if you have proven you could not carry out your end of a deal.

An order to wear a SCRAM device in Orange, California, can negatively affect your life. You will need a skilled criminal defense attorney to argue you do not require monitoring. Contact Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or info@orangecountyduifirm.com to discuss your case.