It all started in a garage, after Jeff Hawthorne, the inventor of the SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring® (SCRAM CAM®) bracelet, had a friend who was killed by a drunk driver with multiple DUIs. Jeff wanted to find a solution to better monitor for alcohol consumption 24/7, removing the need for clients to actively test for alcohol and the likelihood of them drinking around testing schedules. After several years of research, prototypes, and beta testing, in 2003, the first SCRAM CAM unit was launched to the criminal justice market.
Though there was a market for this type of technology, Jeff would still have to demonstrate that need to courts, law enforcement, and more. Due to Jeff’s perseverance, extensive research, and the validation of transdermal monitoring, SCRAM Systems can proudly say we’ve been Making a Difference with SCRAM CAM for 20 years!
20 Years of Making a Difference: Looking Back
Now 2023, SCRAM Systems is celebrating 20 years of SCRAM CAM. With the help of almost 200 Service Providers in all 50 states, we are helping clients abide by court orders for alcohol abstinence and supporting their journey to long-term sobriety.
Though it has always tested for alcohol every 30 minutes, 24/7, SCRAM CAM has gone through some notable milestones over the last 20 years:
- 2003: We found success with the Michigan Department of Corrections and our first Service Provider, House Arrest Services.
- 2008: The two-sided device design was updated to a sleeker, lighter, more comfortable one-sided design.
- 2010: The 3rd generation of SCRAM CAM was now dual-purpose with the addition of house arrest functionality.
- 2013: SCRAM Systems emerged from expansion to include multiple electronic monitoring products meeting many customer and client needs. This initiated the rebrand from SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) to SCRAM CAM.
- 2020: SCRAM CAM was rolled out in England and the Netherlands for those accused of alcohol-related offenses, giving SCRAM Systems a global presence.
- 2023: The first ever continuous alcohol monitoring requirement law went into effect in Colorado, and SCRAM CAM turned 20 years old.
The Stats: Speaking to the Success of SCRAM CAM
20 years of working with courts, agencies, probation, sheriff’s departments, and more, have produced some impressive numbers and statistics:
- Approximately 55,000 clients are currently being monitored by SCRAM Systems various technologies, with more than half on SCRAM CAM—that’s over 26,000 clients monitored by SCRAM CAM every day!
- Over 900,000 total clients have been monitored with SCRAM CAM.
- With a single bracelet administering 48 tests a day, SCRAM CAM has taken over 4.6 billion total alcohol readings.
- Clients wear the device for an average of 109 days, equating to over 103 million monitored days.
- 99.1% of the days that clients are monitored with SCRAM CAM are Sober Days, a 24-hour period with no confirmed drinking or attempts to tamper with the device.
SCRAM Systems would like to thank all our Service Providers and Agencies, and the multitude of courts, jurisdictions, and community corrections departments they serve—and of course, all of the clients that have begun and continued their sobriety journey with SCRAM CAM.
My life completely changed. Cravings diminished and relationships with my close ones flourished. I want to continue being sober.
–SCRAM CAM Client
