HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO—Stephen Talpins, the former national policy director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), has joined Alcohol Monitoring Systems (AMS) as the company’s vice president of industry relations. Denver-based AMS manufactures and markets SCRAM® (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor), a high-tech bracelet that is the first and only transdermal alcohol testing system that monitors high-risk offenders around the clock for alcohol consumption.
Talpins will drive AMS’ government and special interest initiatives, as well as focus the company’s legal and legislative programs on a state-by-state basis. With an extensive background as a prosecutor, he will also address handling the many court challenges that innovative technologies face when introduced into a court.
Talpins says he made the transition to private industry because he believes that the adoption of technologies, such as SCRAM, is the only way that communities will be able to tackle the DUI epidemic and also effectively address the repeat alcohol offenders who clog the courts. “The system traditionally is ill-equipped to properly address people with alcohol misuse issues, particularly impaired drivers,” says Talpins. “Prosecutors and judges struggle during sentencing to balance their desire to assess, treat and rehabilitate offenders with the need to protect the public. Probation officers are overwhelmed by huge caseloads that make it impossible for them to adequately monitor offenders without help. That’s why technology will continue to play an increasing role in managing people.” According to AMS, SCRAM has monitored more than 30,000 offenders in 41 states.
AMS Chairman and CEO Mike Iiams says that having Talpins in this key role will be a tremendous asset to the company. “As our organization matures, it has become essential to effectively integrate SCRAM with the priorities and programs developed by organizations such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, MADD, The Century Council and the National Institutes of Health, as well as state and local judicial systems,” says Iiams. “Steve’s background will really help our company work more effectively with the many organizations and governmental stakeholders that are committed to finding ways to better manage the alcohol offender.”
A cum laude graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, Talpins began his career as an Assistant State Attorney with the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office. During his 12 years with the office, he supervised dozens of prosecutors, as well as the prosecution of tens of thousands of DUI cases. He also served as the director of the National Traffic Law Center, a component of the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) and the American Prosecutors Research Institute (APRI). Talpins is a renowned speaker and author with a career focus on law enforcement and public policy work specific to impaired driving, as well as other alcohol- and drug-related crime.
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 54 people across the U.S. and is a privately-held company headquartered in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.