Kane courts tout alcohol monitoring devices

Electronic bracelets that monitor alcohol consumption through sweat appear to be gaining popularity in the Kane County court system, where 430 defendants have worn one instead of going to jail over the last 18 months.

Officials say the benefits are many. Not only have the bracelets kept down overcrowding at the county jail and kept defendants sober, they've freed up about $3.2 million that might have been spent housing inmates.

"The benefits are really all the way through the system," Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti said Friday.

His office began offering Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring, otherwise known as SCRAM, April 1, 2007. By last March, judges had sentenced more than 130 defendants to the system, and that figure has more than tripled since.

"I think everybody's come to the conclusion that it's very reliable," Barsanti said. "There's been a lot of increase across the board."

Manufactured by Colorado-based Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc., the bracelets attach near the ankle with a tamper-proof strap. Twice an hour, they take alcohol readings through perspiration above the skin. Findings are monitored by the company and reported to authorities.

In Kane County, about 430 defendants over the last 18 months have worn the devices for a combined 44,097 days. The average local defendant wears one about 108 days, and there's a compliance rate of about 90 percent.

"Some people try to beat it and do different things, like knock it off with a hammer," Barsanti said. "All of those guys just drink right away - and they get caught."

Wearing the bracelets costs individual defendants fees of $6 to $15 a day, as opposed to the $73 taxpayers spend housing one inmate in the county jail for 24 hours. A portion of the fees are set aside to cover those who can't pay for SCRAM themselves.

So far, 12 of the 16th Judicial Circuit's 17 judges have used alcohol monitoring bracelets as a sentencing tool, according to the state's attorney's office. The devices also are used in Cook, DuPage, Will and McHenry counties.

"The reason I liked it all along is it's a behavior-changing device," Barsanti said. "This is the kind of thing we have to think about in the future: alternative ways of getting things accomplished without having to resort to jail."