Photo by Devinn Winkleman/Lake Powell Chronicle After four months of wearing the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor bracelet, Lavato Sandoval (left) is finally relieved of it after Probation Compliance Inc. program technician Dale Finch uses special tools to take it off.

PAGE — Ankle bracelets have been a fashion accessory for years, but now, court systems are using a high-tech version for a different purpose: To monitor the drinking habits of individuals who have been caught driving under the influence.

On Oct. 10, Lavato Sandoval was one of the first individuals in Page to be relieved of wearing the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor, or SCRAM as it is named, after four months of not drinking a drop of alcohol.

When wearing the bracelet, Sandoval said a typical day for him was to make sure the amber light was active on the SCRAM modem to make sure communications between the modem and bracelet were OK.

After that, he usually took a shower, but couldn’t use mouthwash because it included alcohol, and at work, it made things more difficult.

“(When) I was crammed up in some little tight spots, I had to reposition myself or had to turn the bracelet sideways or something right around my ankle,” Sandoval said.

He said wearing the bracelet was a definite deterrent when it came to consuming any more alcohol. After the second month, he forgot all about the alcohol, and it improved his life.

“The days (were) going by better. I’m closer with my kids, my kids are closer; family’s more closer now,” he said.

Sandoval said it felt good to have the bracelet off after having to wear it for so long. He accomplished and conquered the task and he is proud of himself.

Probation Compliance Inc. program technician Dale Finch said the technology behind this bracelet is called transdermal testing. This means if a person consumes alcohol, it will be sweated out of the skin, and the device can then test the sweat to see if traces of alcohol exist.

“The normal test is every hour. It will pull a test from the skin — from the pores — and loads it into the system in the bracelet that is worn on the leg 24-7,” he said.

At a predetermined time, it will download the information to the SCRAM modem, which is attached to a live phone line and an electrical outlet, he said.

Information that has been collected within a 24-hour period, according to the SCRAM Web site, is then uploaded to SCRAMNet, a Web-based application where offender data is collected, stored and analyzed by supervising agencies.

Finch said that if a violation happens, it is given to the court, and it is up to the court to decide what will happen next.

There are several reasons why Page Justice Court might issue a bracelet instead of jail time for DUI offenders. He said a very compelling reason he hears from the court is the need to have people go back into the community to work and support their family and to be a person of value to themselves.

Other than that, Finch said the bracelet might be used to keep offenders from repeating between being granted a release and making a second appearance in court.

“If the individual is wearing a bracelet, the court is assured alcohol will not be consumed,” he said.

Not only does the person have to make sure the collected data is being uploaded to SCRAMNet every 24 hours, but there are also fees that have to be paid for the upkeep of the bracelet itself.

Finch said the upkeep cost is $12 a day, $50 for installation, and the individual is responsible for the cost of the equipment, which is well over $2,000. They are also under contract for paying on time, and the device will not come off until all debts are paid and all court conditions have been met, he said. Once off, the money is not returned, and the bracelet is sent back for reconstruction.

Sandoval had a message for future offenders facing DUI charges: In his experience, it was an expensive habit.

“I know what I went through. I know how much money goes into this, and there’s stuff that I could have got with that money and other bills that I could have paid with that money, but this had to be paid for,” he said.

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