The criminal justice system has wide powers because it is tasked with society’s most important duty: to protect the public and create a safe community. As citizens, we give that power in return for our safety, but we also require that power to be implemented in a way that is fair, effective and, where public funds are involved, with transparency and common sense.
Through recent reporting from Injustice Watch, it has come to light that the Cook County Circuit Court has been punishing driving under the influence and other traffic offenses in a way that affords neither real protection from drunken drivers nor open and transparent contracting. That it also extracts a hefty financial cost from a seemingly arbitrary subset of drivers who end up in court while creating a steady profit for a private company without a contract are all reasons for scrutiny. That a plurality of the cases emanate from one courtroom and that there is no data or reporting on the results calls for further attention.
The vendor CAM Systems has been issuing alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelets known as Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring, or SCRAM, devices in Illinois since 2006. Cook County’s court system first entered into a contract with CAM Systems in 2016. This ankle device takes a reading from the skin every 30 minutes to detect the presence of alcohol.
While manufacturers and addiction specialists agree that SCRAM is most effective for people with multiple DUIs, individuals assigned a SCRAM device in a plea deal are just as likely to be first-time DUI offenders or those charged with other minor traffic violations, such as driving with a suspended license but with a DUI on their record in the past.
For the defendant, wearing an alcohol-monitoring device may be preferable to jail time, but it does not prevent the use of a vehicle; it reports only the consumption of alcohol. The punishment is the cost.
When a judge assigns a SCRAM device as a condition of a plea deal, the defendant is required to pay between $12.40 and $24.40 per day for the device. That’s an average of $500 per month, or $6,000 per year. However, while the arrest, prosecution and court are public costs, the proceeds are private profit. CAM Systems has also been operating in Cook County without a contract for over 18 months. More than 200 people have been issued devices since the contract expired in January 2021.
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Preliminary estimates show that SCRAM participants have paid more than $3 million to CAM Systems since 2017, according to data provided by the chief judge’s office. This figure excludes individuals who are currently on the program.
Injustice Watch spoke with several SCRAM program participants about the financial toll the program, which could cost as much as half of a person’s monthly income, took on their lives.
And in more than 40 cases, CAM Systems went back to the public court system to sue individuals for debts incurred from SCRAM devices.
Furthermore, independent studies have questioned the efficacy and reliability of SCRAM devices, which are not classified as medical devices. False positives and false negatives are not uncommon.
We are in a time when employers and government are investing in the financial and workplace resilience of people in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is imperative that the criminal justice system mandates solutions that keep people safe and address and rehabilitate the root causes of issues such as addiction. However, creating private profit is not the job of the court system.
On Wednesday, the Cook County Board of Commissioners will hold a hearing to address an important question: If a SCRAM device doesn’t protect the public by stopping driving under the influence and it does not address addiction, who benefits?
Bridget Gainer is the Cook County commissioner representing the 10th District.
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