The alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet, commonly known as SCRAM, which is being ordered by courts all over Washington as a method of monitoring DUI defendants, can give positive results for alcohol even if a defendant has not had a single drink.

The device, called a ”Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor,” or SCRAM for short, takes the form of a bulky ankle bracelet and tests a person’s blood alcohol level through perspiration.  It wirelessly updates the monitoring company or probation every 30 minutes. Judges all over Seattle, King County, and Washington State have been quick to adopt this technology as a way to ensure that DUI defendants are not consuming alcohol in violation of their court orders.