Any young, trend-spotting women out there who just had to get one of those otherwise ugly ankle bracelets adorning the not-so-ugly leg of actor Lindsay Lohan (UK Daily Mail) a while ago may remember that it actually was a device used to remotely monitor blood alcohol concentration.
But who cares about some spoiled, attention-hungry diva? Apparently you do, dear reader (in other words, I made you click).
Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc., the Colorado company that makes the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (PDF, fact sheet), or SCRAM, is now urging courts to make greater use of the monitors (Medical News Today) during the DUI-heavy holiday season.
But first, let's get back to Lindsay's ordeal.
Lohan had just been released from rehab following a DUI and wore the bracelet voluntarily as a gesture of good faith to the court, according to celebrity gossip site Radar. A well of controversy urupted when it was revealed that the device only works when it's in range of a corresponding web-enabled transmitter. And since Lohan's transmitter was at her home while she was out partying, the bracelet served as little more than a fashion accessory.
But a signal was finally sent to Lohan's lawyer (the designated recipient) that she was indeed drunk as Lohan drove her car within range of the transmitter. By then, however, it was too late and Lohan was busted for another DUI (TMZ).
The devices aren't necessarily defective, though, and Lohan's ability to allegedly get her drink on while wearing the clunky anklet had more to do with her particular arrangement. For the rest of us Regular Joes and Janes, the ankle device would be worn as part of a court-brokered arrangement and data would be sent not to a lawyer but to the court itself.
As far as the transmitting device is concerned, at least for those not named Lindsay Lohan, readings are taken every 30 minutes and then all the day's readings are sent to officials at the end of the day. So the only way to slip beneath the radar would be to avoid going home, assuming that's where the transmitter is, which of course would raise a red flag.
SCRAM is currently being used in Illinois for some DUI convictions and other serious alcohol-related offenses, often in lieu of (or in addition to) an interlock, in-car breathalyzer device.
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SCRAM: Alcohol Monitoring for DUI Offenders in Illinois (FindLaw, provided by The Law Offices of Thomas Glasgow, Ltd.)
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DUI Sentencing: Is SCRAM flying under the radar? (Illinois State Bar Association)
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Chicago DUI Lawyers (FindLaw)
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