Massachusetts judges often require criminal defendants to remain alcohol free as a pretrial or probation condition. Additionally, parolees may be required to abstain from alcohol as part of their early release from incarceration.
The “alcohol free” condition is frequently enforced using a portable breath test known as SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring).
The SCRAM devise is about the size of a cell phone with a tube/straw for the defendant to blow into. The defendant must carry the devise with him and provide regularly scheduled breath tests throughout the day. The defendant may also receive random or “on demand” tests that are not part of the daily schedule.
When the defendant blows into the device, his photo is taken and both the photo and the breath results are sent to the probation department’s electronic monitoring agency “ELMO”.
There are three common ways in which the defendant can violate his SCRAM requirements.
- He can submit a breath- test result that shows alcohol in his system. According to guidelines set by the Office of Trial Courts, a failing test is one in which “a client provides a positive air sample with a BrAC above the acceptable threshold (.020).”
- the defendant can miss a scheduled or random/on-demand test.
- the defendant can violate the SCRAM requirements by submitting a breath test that does not include a recognized photo of the defendant.
If any of the above SCRAM violations are not resolved promptly, a warrant will be issued for the defendant’s arrest and he could face bail revocation or sanctions for failing to satisfy the terms of his probation or parole.
It should be noted that there are other, less common ways in which a defendant could find himself in violation. These include tampering with the SCRAM devise, failing to properly charge or store the device, and things of that nature. The reasons for triggering a SCRAM “alert” are listed in the attached chart produced by the state auditor: