What is CAM?

As the innovator in the continuous alcohol monitoring (CAM) industry with the introduction of SCRAM in 2003, AMS has unrivaled insight gained from monitoring close to 100,000 offenders over the past six years. This experience has taught us what courts require and demand from a true CAM product – both from the product itself and by the company supplying it.

But because CAM is a relatively new technology, there may be some uncertainty as to what constitutes a true “continuous” alcohol monitoring device – over and above how often an alcohol test is taken. AMS’ experience and proven leadership in the CAM space has led us to conclusively determine that an authentic “continuous alcohol monitoring” device must have all of the following requirements to be of value to courts. Most of these requirements are interrelated and support each other. If an alleged “CAM” product is deficient in even one of these key functional areas, it could put courts at significant risk.

Product Requirements

Alcohol Source Distinction

The CAM system must be able to conclusively distinguish between ingested alcohol vs. alcohol that comes from an external source (such as lotions, cleaners, etc.).

Without the ability to make this distinction:

• Courts will not be able to enforce rulings
• Offenders could be wrongfully incarcerated
• Courts would be at risk for erroneous rulings

Single Source Admissibility

Single source admissibility means that the court would need to have two separate alcohol detection methods to conclusively determine if the offender drank alcohol. The CAM system should not require a “secondary screen” for the data to be enforceable in court, which contradicts the science of transdermal testing.

If the “CAM” device can’t distinguish ingested from environmental alcohol, its results won’t be powerful enough to stand on their own merit. In such a case, courts would need to use a secondary screening test to confirm the event at additional:

• Time – to administer an additional test
• Labor – having officers and other personnel involved
• Expense – the cost of additional tests and personnel time

Tamper Detection

The CAM device should be able to detect if the offender attempts to tamper with, remove, or obstruct its ability to detect alcohol – and report this violation immediately to the supervising authority.

Evidence-Based Assessment, Detection, and Deterrence

The continuous alcohol monitoring device provides solid data that gives courts the ability to:

• Assess − Gauge offender drinking patterns and evaluate levels of alcohol addiction to prescribe appropriate sanctions and treatment protocols
• Detect – Identify drinking and tamper violations
• Deter – Provide an enforceable way to keep offenders from drinking alcohol so they will comply with court orders and protect public safety

Manufacturer Requirements

Court Validation

Court validation means that data captured by the device is considered solid enough to be admissible in evidentiary hearings and court cases. This acceptance is possible because of the technology that the CAM device is based on, as well as the manufacturer’s established track record of defending the technology in numerous court cases across the country. An additional outcome of court acceptance is that many of these hearings result in favorable Frye or Daubert rulings.

Because of the factors above, judges will consider the CAM device to be accurate, reliable, and generally accepted.

Court Support

The manufacturer must fully stand behind the results of its CAM device in court, and also offer in-person expert testimony to support and validate these results.

These results are further validated by reporting data and graphs that map the components and time line of the drinking event in detail.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

The CAM system must be able to provide comprehensive data for each alcohol detection event, such as:

• Alcohol absorption and elimination levels (TAC)
• Temperature
• Infrared (IR) voltage

These data points and graphs provide sufficient information that distinguishes between alcohol consumption and environmental interferrants, based on differences in absorption and elimination rates.