New Technology Will Stop Offenders From Drinking

MALONE - Local law enforcement officials are ready to use a new tool in their efforts to stop individuals on probation from consuming alcohol.

Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne said his office is now hoping to utilize a new technology that tracks an individual and can tell if he or she consumes alcohol.

"It's a device that goes around the ankle, and it can check a person's location and if they've ingested alcohol," Champagne said. "It basically checks the perspiration for the presence of alcohol."

Champagne said the device, the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring + House Arrest - SCRAMx, is worn by an offender for a duration of time agreed upon as part of their court-ordered probation. According to the device's maker, Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc., the SCRAMx ankle bracelet, which sports a "tamper-proof strap," captures alcohol readings "by sampling the insensible perspiration collected from the air above the skin" every half hour.

The machine then submits the data via radio frequency to a data receiver that plugs into a phone line in the offender's home. The data is submitted to a secure Web-based service, which probation officers or law enforcement officials can then access via the Internet.

Champagne recently had his first opportunity to strike a deal with a defendant that includes use of the device. The Franklin County district attorney served as a special prosecutor in former Congressman John Sweeney's felony DWI case. Sweeney pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor DWI charge as part of a plea agreement Champagne said included a sentencing recommendation of 30 days in jail, use of the SCRAMx for one year, three years probation, $1,000 in fines and 300 hours of pro bono legal work.

"(Sweeney) also has to pay the cost associated with (the SCRAMx)," Champagne said. "That's $4,000 for the year."

Champagne said the new technology will allow his office, in certain cases, to give a repeat DWI offender the opportunity to avoid jail time.

"It give us an option," he said. "It gives us the ability to monitor someone without the cost of incarceration."

The district attorney said he hopes the device will also give probation officers and law enforcement a better tool in enforcing the conditions of a house arrest.

"What good is putting someone on home confinement if their house just becomes the place for the party?" Champagne asked. "This helps us prevent those situations."

Champagne said the Sweeney case marks the first use of the SCRAMx in Upstate New York.

"And we plan on using it here when there's a case where it's appropriate," he said.