Dolemite wrote:
] ] The anklet, called a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol
] ] Monitor (SCRAM), will stay attached to the 46-year-old
] ] man for at least 90 days, testing his perspiration for
] ] the presence of alcohol every hour and transmitting the
] ] results to a monitor/modem device once a day.
] ]
] ] The modem then sends the information to a company in
] ] Colorado that puts the results on the Internet so
] ] England's probation officer can see if he's consumed any
] ] alcohol.
]
] On one hand, I can see this as being a great alternative to
] someone that has made a huge mistake, such as driving drunk.
] On the other hand, though, it's promoting a prohibition era
] type of mentality in that drinking is targeted as the offense,
] not drinking and driving. It seems like a much better
] mechanism would be a cut-off device for a vehicle that
] requires the owner to blow into it before it will start - I've
] read of these before. It also doesn't address alcoholism in a
] logical manner, because alcoholism is a disease rather than a
] simple choice. Drinking and driving can easily be stopped
] cold turkey, so to speak, by taking away the driving
] privelege. Then there's the issue of privacy - it's one thing
] to pay for your crime, it's another to potentially have your
] identity online just waiting to be duplicated by an ID thief.
] There's no detail as to what information is available to
] parole officers, but if it's online, it becomes a potential
] target for thieves.
]
] Oh, well, enough ranting on this one topic for now. I'm sure
] others will jump in and carry the torch.

Agreed Dolimite! Ill drink to that!

RE: Ankle band tracks DUI offenders