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Press Release
For Immediate Release:
March 30, 2004
Contact:
Jason Varney, CROSSWAEH Program Manager,
(419) 447-1444
or
Bernie Rochford, Oriana House, Inc., Executive Vice President,
(330) 535-8116.
Two High-Tech Sentencing Options Offered to Courts Industry's First 24-Hour Alcohol Testing System and Home Incarceration Available
Local judges will soon be able to hand down two additional, high-tech sentencing options that closely monitor offenders' actions, without costing taxpayers the price of incarceration. Starting April 1, Oriana House, Inc., headquartered in Akron, will offer the two programs - the first is a new, state-of-the-art alcohol monitoring program that tests court-referred offenders 24 hours a day, seven days a week for alcohol use, and the second is a Home Incarceration Program. Oriana House already has an established presence in northwest Ohio through its operation of the CROSSWAEH Community Based Correctional Facility (CBCF) in Tiffin. CROSSWAEH opened in 1999 and serves the counties of Crawford, Richland, Ottawa, Seneca, Sandusky, Wyandot, Ashland, Erie, and Huron. The new programs will be available to municipal and common pleas courts in northwest Ohio.
The alcohol monitoring program offers a fool-proof way of determining if an offender consumes alcohol while on probation or out on bond. Known as SCRAM (the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor ), the system includes an 8-ounce bracelet that is worn around the ankle 24 hours a day and measures the amount of alcohol that migrates through a person's skin. This technology collects, stores, and transmits alcohol level information and is tamper-resistant. The SCRAM Bracelet is the world's only non-invasive, 24-hour-a-day alcohol detection system.
"Conventional alcohol testing has posed some challenges in the past, because we would only know if a person consumed alcohol by administering a breathalyzer test while the alcohol was still in the person's system," said Oriana House Executive Vice President Bernie Rochford. "The SCRAM Bracelet will test at least once every hour and store that information," Rochford continued. "There is no way to avoid detection. Big brother is definitely watching."
The SCRAM Bracelet has two components. The first part contains a sensor pack that measures insensible perspiration, which is the constant, unnoticeable excretion of sweat through the skin. When alcohol is consumed, ethanol migrates through the skin and is excreted in the insensible perspiration. SCRAM measures this ethanol in order to determine a person's Transdermal Alcohol Concentration (TAC ).
The second component contains electronics for tamper detection and system control, as well as collecting, storing and wirelessly transferring the data through the use of a modem. If alcohol or a tamper is detected, the system automatically begins testing every 30 minutes until alcohol is no longer present. Every reading is date- and time-stamped and stored in a memory chip within the SCRAM Bracelet until the data is transmitted, via a standard telephone line and a secure telephone network. The control center for the SCRAM System, SCRAMNET, is accessed via the Internet using standard web browsers.
Jason Varney, program manager of CROSSWAEH, said the SCRAM Bracelet allows for enhanced community safety and offender rehabilitation. "The SCRAM Bracelet gives the court the information it needs to take further action if an offender does consume alcohol, and it gives us a tool to identify with certainty if there is ongoing alcohol use and intervene with appropriate treatment."
Oriana House's Alcohol Monitoring Program is intended for several types of offenders, including adult offenders who have been convicted of multiple DUI violations and are seeking driving privileges or need 24-hour alcohol monitoring; people arrested for a multiple DUI offense that the court makes abstinence from alcohol a condition of bond; people engaged in chemical dependency treatment who have demonstrated an inability to refrain from the use of alcohol during treatment; and offenders under supervision who have demonstrated an inability to remain alcohol-free. The offender pays all costs involved with the SCRAM unit.
Also starting on April 1, Oriana House will offer a Home Incarceration Program. This program also utilizes a tamper-proof ankle band, but this one monitors whether a person leaves his or her residence. Offenders are required to wear the ankle band 24-hours a day, and are only permitted to leave their homes for approved activities such as employment, education, and treatment. As part of the program the offender is also required to submit random and weekly urine drug screens, and to report in-person once a week to Oriana House staff or his or her probation officer.
Oriana House started its Home Incarceration Program in the Akron area in 1989. The program currently serves more than 400 clients daily and is one of five nationally accredited home incarceration programs and the only one in the state of Ohio. The Oriana House Home Incarceration Program is accredited by the American Correctional Association. The monitoring system is approved by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations.
Offenders who are on the Home Incarceration Program must verify all activities outside of their residence with time cards, pay stubs, etc.
The Home Incarceration Program is intended for adult, felony, misdemeanor or traffic offenders, and pretrial release clients in need of supervision. Individuals who are under Home Incarceration pay a per diem cost for the program.
According to Varney, both Home Incarceration and the Alcohol Monitoring Program will offer the courts cost-effective sentencing options for non-violent offenders. "The technology of wireless monitoring, 24-hours a day, seven days a week, means that we can watch and restrict certain activities or the location of offenders very effectively, while still allowing them to work, pay taxes and child support, undergo substance abuse treatment, and attend school."
For additional information on either the Alcohol Monitoring Program or the Home Incarceration Program, contact Jason Varney, program manager at CROSSWAEH, at (419) 447-1444, or Bernie Rochford, Oriana House executive vice president, at (330) 535-8116.
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