DENVER—Alcohol Monitoring Systems (AMS), makers of the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor, added 10 new customers in the first quarter of 2005, increasing their customer base by 25 percent and expanding their coverage to 29 states.
The product, known as SCRAM, is an alcohol ankle bracelet that actually samples a subject’s sweat—as often as once every 30 minutes—in order to measure Blood Alcohol Content (BAC). Just in their first 20 months on the market, the Denver-based company signed three direct government agency contracts in North Carolina, Maryland, and Oregon, and added seven private service providers to their customer base in the first quarter of 2005. AMS president and Chief Executive Officer Mike Iiams says that the company continues to outpace their expectations in terms of growth and market acceptance. “Historically, new technology has seen slow growth in the corrections industry. We focused on a very real, but very under-served market need—continuous, long-term monitoring of alcohol-involved offendersand clearly, our product is meeting that need,” says Iiams. To-date, the 24-hour-a-day monitor has been worn by more than 7,000 people, including DUI offenders, domestic violence offenders, and even underage drinkers.
AMS markets the SCRAM System two ways: Either directly to government agencies with internal monitoring programs, or to private service providers that deliver testing, monitoring, treatment, and probation services to agencies. New AMS Authorized Service Partners in 2005 include companies in Nevada, Florida, Indiana and North Carolina that will deal exclusively with SCRAM. Other new customers include service providers in Pennsylvania and New Mexico that are adding SCRAM to a comprehensive list of probation services.
Bruce Roberts, CEO of Rehabilitation Support Services (RSS) of North Carolina, is one of the newest service providers that will offer SCRAM exclusively to the 7th and 9th Judicial Districts of North Carolina. Roberts first got involved with SCRAM through an organization that was working with AMSto secure private funding from investors across the U.S. After investigating both the industry and the application of the product, Roberts was impressed with the potential impact of continuous alcohol monitoring, as well as the business opportunity, and formed RSS in February. “SCRAM is the ideal blend of a new technological innovation, a substantial market need, and the ability to make a difference in the community,” says Roberts.
Mike Diamond, CEO of Total Court Services of Indiana, will offer bothSCRAM and Ignition Interlock technology to courts throughout Central Indiana. “With SCRAM’s ability to test for alcohol around-the-clock and Interlock’s ability to incapacitate an offenders’ car, anyone who falls off the wagon will quickly discover that it has no wheels,” says Diamond.
About the SCRAM System
The SCRAM System includes an ankle bracelet/modem combination, similar to a home arrest system. But instead of monitoring an offender’s location, the ankle bracelet tests using a method called Transdermal Analysis in order to measure BAC. At least once each day, the offender is required to be within 30 feet of a modem, placed in their home or at their place of work. The bracelet uploads the test data to the modem, which in turn sends the results to a web-based served hosted by AMS. SCRAM Programs currently include DUI, Drug Court, Family Court, Domestic Violence, Campus Alcohol, and Offender Reentry Programs.
About Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc.
Established in 1997, Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. manufactures the world’s only noninvasive alcohol-detection system that automatically tests for alcohol every hour, 24 hours a day, regardless of the individual’s location. SCRAM (the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) is the first alcohol testing technology to use Transdermal Analysis to determine an individual’s Blood Alcohol Content. SCRAM fully automates the alcohol testing and reporting process, providing community corrections agencies and treatment organizations nationwide with the ability to classify offenders and assess compliance with sentencing requirements and treatment guidelines. Alcohol Monitoring Systems employs 40 people across the U.S. and is a privately-held company headquartered in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.