Alcohol Monitoring - When Should Judges Use?

http://blog.mobile.amjudges.org/publications/courtrv/cr44-3/CR44-3Flango.pdf

Electronic Monitoring of Criminal Cases in NC- There is a requirement...Did you know?

Are all GPS anklets the same? 

No. 

Does North Carolina have certain requirements for monitoring criminal offenders? 

Yes.

To monitor a criminal case in North Carolina the GPS device must be a single-piece unit, capable of holding a 48-hour battery life on a single charge while recording a person’s location at least once a minute 24 hours a day.
More detail is found in G.S. 15A-101.1. 

SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 15A-101.1 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: "§ 15A-101.1. Electronic technology in criminal process and procedure.

As used in this Chapter, in Chapter 7A of the General Statutes, in Chapter 15 of the General Statutes, and in all other provisions of the General Statutes that deal with criminal process or procedure:

(3a) "Electronic monitoring" or "electronically monitor" or "satellite-based monitoring" means monitoring with an electronic monitoring device that is not removed from a person's body, that is utilized by the supervising agency in conjunction with a Web-based computer system that actively monitors, identifies, tracks, and records a person's location at least once every minute 24 hours a day, that has a battery life of at least 48 hours without being recharged, that timely records and reports or records the person's presence near or within a crime scene or prohibited area or the person's departure from a specified geographic location, and that has incorporated into the software the ability to automatically compare crime scene data with locations of all person's being electronically monitored so as to provide any correlation daily or in real time. In areas of the State where lack of cellular coverage requires the use of an alternative device, the supervising agency shall use an alternative device that works in concert with the software and records location and tracking data for later download and crime scene comparison."

Warden: Prison numbers are down, re-entry programs working

A lower inmate population in Lycoming County since last April was attributed Friday at the monthly prison board meeting to re-entry programs working.

“They are working and are far less costly than incarceration,” said Brad Shoemaker, county prison warden.

Inmate population for April was 337 compared to 398 in April a year ago, he said.

Having 61 fewer male and female inmates in April than that month a year ago is indicative of programs working to reduce higher incarceration population and costs on taxpayers, he said.

The prison is down by 77 commitments in the first quarter of the year, Shoemaker said.

Additionally, there were 216 commitments compared to 228 commitments in 2017, he said.

In addition, Shoemaker has transitioned into the position of warden following the recent retirement of Kevin DeParlos.

DeParlos was credited by the commissioners earlier this month in continuing to set these programs into motion, especially since 2011, as the nation’s heroin epidemic took hold and the city and region experienced the glut in drug-related crimes, according to Shoemaker.

Getting the inmates who are qualified into re-entry and monitoring them at the center in Executive Plaza has paid dividends, Shoemaker said.

Officials from adult probation and the judiciary also weighed in on the positively-developing trend.

“We’ve expanded the bail release program at jail and are getting help from our judges and the officials in the courts,” said Ed McCoy, chief of the Adult Probation Department.

“Electronic monitoring can be the equivalent of jail,” said county President Judge Nancy L. Butts, a huge supporter of re-entry programs and drug court, mental health provisions and other means to assist those who are trying to re-enter society after serving sentences.

Shoemaker said many people don’t realize the cost of keeping an inmate includes intangibles such as medical bills, which include dental work.

“We don’t look at the inmate and say, ‘You got bad teeth. Too bad,’ “ he said.

Last month a spike occurred in the cost of dental care for the month, and it amounted to more than $11,000.

Efforts are made to try to get inmates off of drugs and alcohol, with 48 receiving alcohol monitoring services and 18 who are monitored using satellite technology.

The cost savings is $2.4 million for the 465 “clients” in this service, according to adult probation officials.

Another factor in helping to reduce overall cost on taxpayers, has been upgrades to Clinton County Correctional Facility, said Sheriff Mark Lusk. Because of these upgrades, when overcrowding is occurring, the facility can be used and it is much closer than Centre or Tioga counties’ facilities.

The typical transfer to the facility near McElhattan can take sheriff’s personnel an hour and a half, saving possible overtime costs and travel related expense, he said.

The neighboring county prison can take up to 15 to 20 inmates on a daily basis in the case of overcrowding. Four inmates recently were taken to Clinton County and brought back after two days.

That piqued County Commissioner Jack McKernan’s interest, who asked if all four inmates were taken to the same location, and he discovered from officials that they were.

Commissioner Rick Mirabito said the commissioners were expected to meet Friday with Clinton County officials and would be “pushing for that” closer transfer in the event of overcrowding. “It saves us hours and transportation costs and overtime salaries,” Mirabito said.

About 12 of the inmates last month were federal detainees, a big issue for some because of staff reductions in area Bureau of Prison facilities in Allenwood and Lewisburg, Shoemaker said.

Another cost saving measure is the county is renting space to the U.S. Marshals Service at the prison at a daily rate, Shoemaker said.

Cited with Recognition for Services to Courts and Treatment Centers, Cartret and Camp Receive 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Cited with Recognition for Services to Courts and Treatment Centers, Cartret and Camp receive 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year Award 

Raleigh, NC- Mark Cartret, a Whiteville business owner and Jim Camp, were awarded “2018 Entrepreneur of the Year” at the North Carolina 6th Annual Small Business Week Awards Luncheon held in the Raleigh Hilton conference center on May 3. 

Cartret and well-known Charlotte entrepreneur James D. “Jim” Camp were chosen from a list of candidates which included other presidents and CEO’s from across the state. Their company Continuous Alcohol Monitoring LLC was cited as “offering products that revolutionized the way courts, agencies and treatment providers monitor alcohol-involved offenders. 

This option not only reduces the County and States’ daily inmate fee but helps the inmate maintain gainful employment, retain ability to pay child support and be a productive member of society.”

“This is a tremendous honor bestowed by some truly great people. 

We humbly accept this award on behalf of our executive team. We wouldn’t be here except for their hard work at helping others succeed. 

If you are able to help others, it is a worthy opportunity that you should always strive for in business and in life” Cartret said. 

Cartret, a current governor-appointee, was previously cited in 2003 in the Wall Street Journal as a “Businessman of The Year” from North Carolina.  

Tagwire “Mark’s Blog”

Tagwire 

Mark’s blog,

From the CEO of Continuous Alcohol Monitoring LLC

So I received another success story. 

I believe more in the equipment today than I did yesterday. 

An attorney, for the other side, called to say thank you. 

A little girl was just allowed to visit her father. 

There were indications of alcohol abuse and a civil matter ensued. 

But thanks to SCRAM CAM the court is now satisfied that the father is capable of being around his child without drinking. 

As a parent that is humbling. 

It’s a good day. 

Report Calls For Higher Taxes, Lower BAC to Reduce DWI Deaths

In January the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released “Getting to zero alcohol-impaired driving fatalities: A comprehensive approach to a persistent problem.” The consensus report—produced by an interdisciplinary committee of researchers in public health, medicine, policy, and health sciences and supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)—calls for states and the federal government to enact a series of evidence-based measures to reduce drunk-driving deaths and crashes. Among the list: higher taxes on alcohol and resetting the legal BAC for impaired driving to 0.05.

Drunk driving “the deadliest and costliest danger on U.S. roads”

While the uptick in drugged and distracted driving has received the lion’s share of headlines in recent years, alcohol-related traffic fatalities remain one of the most predominant causes of deaths on the nation’s roadways.

In 2016, on average 29 people per day died in alcohol-related crashes. In their pointedly direct introductory abstract, the report authors note, “Each alcohol-impaired driving crash represents a failure of the system—whether that is excessive alcohol service, poor road design, lack of effective policies or enforcement—and is preventable with a coordinated, systematic approach across multiple sectors.”

Several of the report’s recommendations—including DWI courts, treatment for addicted DUI offenders, and technology-based interventions like ignition interlocks—already have wide support, but others that involve policy changes and additional regulations on the alcohol industry may receive a more mixed response.

Higher alcohol costs = less binge drinking?

According to the report, “Alcohol taxes have perhaps the strongest and most consistent evidence base of any U.S. policy for reducing binge drinking, and strong direct evidence shows that higher alcohol taxes reduce alcohol-impaired driving and motor vehicle crash fatalities.” In short, when booze is more expensive, people buy less alcohol and consume fewer drinks in a sitting—meaning that they are less likely to be impaired behind the wheel.

However, state and federal taxes combined account for just $0.08 to $0.20 of a drink’s costs, and the tax reform bill passed by Congress in December 2017 reduced the federal excise tax on alcohol to its lowest level since 1950. The report recommends increasing taxes “enough to have a meaningful impact” on the cost of a drink, ensuring that those taxes increase with inflation, and designate the funds from those taxes for activities like sobriety checkpoints and treatment programs.

Lower legal “per se” BAC

Research shows that the risk of a fatal crash more than doubles by the time someone reaches the current drunk-driving limit. In fact, citing laboratory results, the report states that an “individual’s ability to operate a motor vehicle (including a motorcycle) begins to deteriorate at BAC levels well below 0.05%.”

States are responsible for setting the “per se” BAC for driving—the blood alcohol concentration at which a person is automatically considered to be driving drunk. However, federal government played a significant role in achieving the current standard of 0.08.

The report calls on both state and federal governing bodies to lower the “per se” BAC for driving—the blood alcohol concentration at which a person is automatically considered to be driving drunk—from 0.08 to 0.05. States are responsible for setting their BAC limit; however, the federal government plays a significant role in incenting a standard by tying it to eligibility for federal highway dollars.

Since 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended reducing the legal BAC for drivers from 0.08 to 0.05. While several states have considered doing so, to date only Utah has passed legislation. That state’s new BAC limit is set to take effect at the end of 2018, but the tourism and alcohol industries are urging law makers to reconsider their decision.

The report notes that other countries that have lowered their legal driving BAC have seen alcohol-related traffic deaths drop. Ultimately, the report argues “The benefits of lowering BAC are on a continuum, but they are enhanced when introduced alongside high-visibility enforcement, sobriety checkpoints, and publicity. The committee concludes that reducing the BAC to 0.05% is an effective strategy and has the greatest potential impact on those at the highest risk of alcohol-impaired traffic fatalities.”

Additional DUI policy recommendations

In total, the report makes more than two dozen recommendations, noting “There is no one-size-fits-all approach that will solve the problem of alcohol-impaired driving. For a problem this large and widespread a systematic population approach is needed.” Additional policy-oriented recommendations include:

• Limit or reduce alcohol availability, including restrictions on the number of on- and off-premises alcohol outlets, and the days and hours of alcohol sales.
• Strengthen laws and dedicate enforcement resources to stop illegal alcohol sales (i.e., sales to already-intoxicated adults and sales to underage persons).
• Use existing regulatory powers to strengthen and implement standards for permissible alcohol marketing content and placement across all media, establish consequences for violations, and promote and fund countermarketing campaigns.
• Ensure that timely standardized data on alcohol-impaired driving, crashes, serious injuries, and fatalities are collected and accessible for evaluation, research, and strategic public dissemination.

Where in the criminal justice process is SCRAM CAM used?

• Pretrial supervision, as a condition of bond.

• As a supervision tool for an offender sentenced to adult probation.

• As part of a specialty court program, such as a DWI, Domestic Violence, Drug Court or Veterans Court.

• Treatment Court.

• As a condition of parole for offenders released early due to jail or prison overcrowding.

• To support offender re-entry programs, where intensive community supervision is a condition of parole.

• As a sanction and assessment tool for misdemeanor underage drinking violators. 

For more information call 800.464.5917 

or visit:

http://www.scramsystemsnc.com 
and

http://www.continuousalcoholmonitoring.com

Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/scramsystemsnc/
https://www.facebook.com/AlcoholMonitoringandGPS/

So you scheduled an Installation? Getting Started With SCRAM Monitoring

If you have been scheduled for an installation...

Please allow a minimum of 30 to 45 minutes for your set-up and/or installation. Bring copies of your court/agency paperwork and a photo identification, as well as anything else you may have been told to bring when you set your appointment. Also prepare a list of questions or concerns you may have so that you ensure you get all of those answered during your appointment. Your assigned agent will go through the Participant Agreement and, depending on the product you’re using, there may also be a Participant Agreement Video that your agent will ask you to watch. The video will review Frequently Asked Questions as well as your responsibilities while being monitored by a SCRAM Systems product.

You will be required to sign and comply with the Participant Agreement. 

Please read through the entire agreement and be sure to ask any questions you may have.

For more information call 800.464.5917 

or visit:

http://www.scramsystemsnc.com 
and

http://www.continuousalcoholmonitoring.com

Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/scramsystemsnc/
https://www.facebook.com/AlcoholMonitoringandGPS/

CAM LLC Reviews From the Web 5-Star Rating

“Came out same day we called and helped our friend. We found their service to be as described and they come to you. That was a plus. The installation took less than 5 minutes and they explained the process to our satisfaction. Also you can text their tech department 24 hours with any question. Professionals. I would recommend them to anyone in need of ...”

5-Star User Rating

25th January 2018

Saved my hide with their GPS which proved I was no stalker. Judge recommended them and they worked well with my attorney. Extremely fast service and they came out to my home. Installation took 5 minutes and they were gone. All who wear GPS are not criminals. My case proves it. Would definitely use them again.

5-Star User Rating

23rd January 2018

Came out same day we called and helped our friend. 

We found their service to be as described and they come to you. That was a plus. 

The installation took less than 5 minutes and they explained the process to our satisfaction. Also you can text their tech department 24 hours with any question. Professionals. I would recommend them to anyone in need of their services. 

5-Star User Rating

19th January 2018

A really good company. Service excellent. Price great. 

And they do as they say. On time and fast.

5-Star User Rating

Great company good service‎

Date Submitted: 2018-01-18

I used this company Cam LLC once my attorney found them. They installed the device same day and their price was much lower than what my neighbor had paid another company. I am sure I was annoying though they did not act like it. I texted a lot of questions and got responses immediately. Even though they explained their product well when they put it on, I forget much more these days. I have been sober 90 days! I do not have a desire to touch alcohol and I love these guys and the product. I highly recommend them to anyone that has fell off of the wagon. And the best part is I got my license back!

5-Star User Rating

Great Service ‎

Date Submitted: 2018-01-19

Highly recommend CAM LLC.

5-Star User Rating

Alcohol Monitoring ‎

Date Submitted: 2018-01-21

CAM LLC, the folks at Continuous Alcohol Monitoring LLC, perform a valuable public service. I would recommend them to anyone or any entity in need of alcohol / offender monitoring services.

5-Star User Rating

By Roger J.

Myrtle Beach, SC

January 28, 2018

I recommend the guys at this company. Alicia has worked with DOC now DPS for many years. Many of their employees have worked in pretrial, probation or electronic monitoring as supervisors or case workers. They’ve assembled the perfect team.

5-Star User Rating

By Haman C.

Myrtle Beach, SC

January 28, 2018

This guy Cartret, a pilot, originally introduced monitoring to the bond industry and one of his companies offered programs all over. A force multiplier I guess. 

They specialize in coming to you anywhere in the US. 

Looks like he’s with James Camp another entrepreneur in Charlotte. Two great innovative thinkers. Alcohol Monitoring Systems did well partnering with them. Our halfway house is using them exclusively and 

we are very satisfied. Sobriety monitoring and alcohol testing has came a long way since the 90’s.

5-Star User Rating

By Jim A.

Raleigh, NC

January 28, 2018

The CAM team my firm worked with in Wilmington and Raleigh were very professional and courteous. They offered competitive prices and worked around my client’s schedule.

5-Star User Rating

By Melissa M.

Cameron Village, NC

January 19, 2018

On time! Wonderful service and price. 

Saved me in Wake Court.

5-Star User Rating

By Lucy W.

Raleigh, NC

January 19, 2018

This is a really good company with great service. They gave us a price that worked with our budget and came out to install our son’s Alcohol device. It proved he had no alcohol problem contrary to what his ex said and allowed him to keep custodial custody of his children. 

Thank you CAM LLC for keeping our family intact.

5-Star User Rating

By Marcus W.

Raleigh, NC

January 17, 2018

My attorney recommended these guys when I decided to get my license back. 

I found their services to be excellent and as described. 

They handled our hookup within 24-hours as they advertised and charged a very reasonable rate after I contacted another company who refused to come out and attempted to charge a much higher price. I am very satisfied with CAM LLC.

Since 2004 our executive team has contracted with and or trained many others who remain in the field today.  Our Pretrial family affiliation goes back to 1971.  We hold the requisite knowledge and proven skills necessary to provide cost effective offender monitoring. Whether it’s through GPS or Alcohol and sobriety Monitoring, or any other government-related service, our partners have access to a highly trained team of professionals 7/24. Our mission is to provide superior service  along with an unparalleled commitment to satisfaction, while maintaining a primary focus on public safety.   Offering same day scheduling, we will come to you.  Please share your thoughts with us.  -Mark Cartret, CEO

Continuous Alcohol Monitoring 5-Star RatingAlcohol Monitoring Five Star Service Provider