Missouri DOC Conducting Pilot of 24/7 Alcohol Anklets

Program Aims to Save Tax Dollars, Improve Community Safety

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Missouri Department of
Corrections Division of Probation and Parole has launched a new alcohol
monitoring Pilot Program aimed at testing the impact of 24/7, continuous
alcohol monitoring on the management of the state's alcohol-fueled offenders.

The pilot, which began in early March, targets offenders with a documented
history of alcohol abuse and with offense histories that include multiple
DWIs. The six month Pilot Program will run in seven probation and parole
district offices located in St. Louis, Vernon, Jackson, Greene, Boone, Scott
and Buchanan counties and will monitor a total of 70 offenders, each for 90
days.

The technology is known as SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor).
It includes an ankle bracelet, worn 24/7, that actually samples an
individual's perspiration every 30 minutes in order to test for alcohol
consumption. Court programs throughout Missouri have monitored more than 2,600
DUI, domestic violence and other alcohol-involved offenders since 2004. The
Missouri DOC program is being funded by Intervention Fees that are collected
from each individual sentenced to probation or parole in the state, to support
interventions that reduce recidivism and improve offender success. "The goal
of the program is to increase our ability to ensure sobriety for clients in
our program, ultimately reducing the number of revocations while increasing
the safety in the community," says Angie Morfeld, public information officer
for the Missouri DOC. Future use of SCRAM will be determined based on an
assessment of the Pilot project.

St. Louis-based Eastern Missouri Alternative Sentencing Services (EMASS),
which manages one of the largest SCRAM programs in the country, will manage
the monitoring services for pilot participants in Boone, Greene and St. Louis
counties. "This technology has revolutionized the way that alcohol-related
offenders are managed in the criminal justice system," says Mike Smith,
president of EMASS. "It can save significant amounts of money for corrections
programs and taxpayers while also improving public safety." In addition to
EMASS, four other private companies will partner with the Division of
Probation and Parole in order to manage the Pilot program. County Probation
Services, Inc. will provide SCRAM to pilot participants in Vernon County;
Electronic Sentencing Alternatives will manage the program in Jackson County;
Midwest Monitoring Systems will manage SCRAM offenders in Scott County and
Private Probation Services will manage participants in Buchanan County.

Alcohol and Crime in Missouri
According to The Century Council, which compiles DUI/DWI data state by state,
more than 35,000 offenders are arrested each year for DWI in the state of
Missouri. Of those, more than 28 percent are repeat offenders. Mike Iiams,
chairman and CEO of Denver-based Alcohol Monitoring Systems, which
manufactures and markets SCRAM nationwide, says alcohol-involved offenders
represent a disproportionate percentage of the offender population. "Nearly 36
percent of violent crimes and 75 percent of domestic violence cases include
offenders who were drunk at the time of the offense. And drunk drivers
represent 18 percent of all those on probation each year, more than any other
single offense," says Iiams. "Recidivism rates for offenders struggling with
alcohol are astounding. Programs that can manage the addiction and ensure
sobriety through continuous testing are seeing significant impact."

SCRAM technology has monitored 94,000 offenders in 46 states. Nearly 9,500
offenders are monitored daily throughout the U.S.

About Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc.
Established in 1997, Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. manufactures SCRAM(R),
the world's only Continuous Alcohol Monitoring system, which uses non-invasive
transdermal analysis to monitor alcohol consumption. SCRAM fully automates the
alcohol testing and reporting process, providing courts and community
corrections agencies with the ability to continuously monitor alcohol
offenders, increase offender accountability and assess compliance with
sentencing requirements and treatment guidelines. Alcohol Monitoring Systems
employs 104 people across the U.S. and is a privately-held company
headquartered in Littleton, Colorado.

SOURCE Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc.

Angie Morfeld, PIO of Missouri Department of Corrections, +1-573-526-6515,
angie.morfeld@doc.mo.gov; or Kathleen Brown of Alcohol Monitoring Systems,
+1-303-785-7822, kbrown@alcoholmonitoring.com