SCOTTSBLUFF, NE—Scottsbluff-based Addiction Counseling/Consultation Services has partnered with a Denver-based alcohol monitoring technology company in order to provide a new, high-tech tool to assist with the problem of DUI and alcohol abuse in the Western Nebraska Panhandle. Starting this month, Addiction Counseling/Consultation Services is now providing the local courts with a technology known as SCRAM®, or the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor. Manufactured and marketed by Alcohol Monitoring Systems (AMS), the technology intensively monitors high-risk alcohol offenders. The SCRAM System, currently in use in 41 states, including Nebraska, includes a high-tech bracelet that offenders wear on their ankles 24 × 7 during their court-specified sentences to detect alcohol consumption. Using non-invasive transdermal analysis, SCRAMautomatically samples the individual’s sweat for alcohol every hour around the clock. According to AMS, the system is the first and only continuous alcohol monitoring solution on the market today.
According to Juanita Rodriguez, founder of Addiction Counseling/Consultation Services, SCRAM means that offenders can no longer drink around testing schedules and get away with it. “The repeat alcohol offender cycle isn’t just costly in terms of money, it’s also a high risk for the local community,” says Rodriguez. Don White, vice president of Field Operations for AMS, agrees. “Because SCRAM monitors high-risk offenders continuously throughout their sentences, it offers an unprecedented level of accountability. Once the bracelet is locked on an offender’s ankle, most think long and hard before drinking. It’s a powerful deterrent.”
According to White, even though SCRAM has made significant inroads across the nation, local partnerships with companies like Addiction Counseling/Consultation Services is beneficial for AMS. “Addiction Counseling/Consultation Services is a very competent and highly-regarded organization that focuses much of its attention on alcohol-related issues. Working with this group is an ideal fit for us.”
According to Scotts Bluff County Court Judge Glenn Camerer, the technology adds an important level of monitoring for offenders with alcohol abuse issues. “This is another tool that helps us to quickly identify the problem offenders, particularly with DUI offenses,” says Camerer. Jennifer Baird, a Scotts Bluff County senior parole officer, agrees. “We expect considerable growth in SCRAM use within the state of Nebraska. The technology adds an important level of monitoring for offenders with alcohol abuse issues. SCRAM is gaining momentum every day because judges and community corrections, which include probation and adult parole, are looking for an effective way to monitor compliance with court orders and increase public safety.”
About Addiction Counseling/Consultation Services
Established in 2005, Addiction Counseling/Consultation Services provides services to the courts and communities in the Western Nebraska Panhandle. The company provides substance abuse counseling, gambling counseling and other consultation. Addiction Counseling and Consultation Services will provide SCRAM technology to courts in Sioux, Dawes, Sheridan, Box Butte, Garden, Scotts Bluff, Banner, Kimball, Cheyenne, Deuel and Morrill counties.
About Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc.
Established in 1997, Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. manufactures SCRAM®, the world’s only Continuous Alcohol Testing system that uses transdermal analysis to monitor alcohol consumption. SCRAM fully automates the alcohol testing and reporting process, providing courts and community corrections agencies with the ability to continuously monitor alcohol offenders, increase offender accountability and assess compliance with sentencing requirements and treatment guidelines. Alcohol Monitoring Systems employs 52 people across the U.S. and is a privately held company headquartered in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.