London Enacts 4 Month Trail for Alcohol Ankle Bracelets

London, England is considered one of the most glamorous and exciting cities to live in the world, as well as one of the most expensive. Filled with celebrities, artists, millionaires, and boasting a legendary nightlife and culture, it’s a diverse city that many flock to from around the world. But as with many great cities, there are always problems in regards to alcohol and intoxication. The pressures of staying afloat in a big city are numerous, financially and emotionally, since a city can be a lonely and alienating place. So people may misguidedly turn to alcohol or drugs to try to relieve the pressure. The city of London, however, is taking more drastic measures to curb the drinking problem the city has, by enacting a four-month trail for alcohol ankle bracelets.

Lindsay Lohan Made The Bracelets Infamous

Infamous Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan is a celebrity who had to wear the bracelet in a very public fashion. She was ordered to wear one of the bracelets after she was charged with drunk driving. The SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Monitoring Service) was fitted on the actress and she was widely photographed with the bracelet bringing it into public consciousness. London has decided to start using the bracelet because of concerns that people are still exhibiting dangerous and disruptive behaviors after drinking despite other types of consequences being enacted. It has gotten to the point where London law enforcement believes that it’s greatly hindering law-abiding citizens from enjoying their nights out on the town. Alcoholism breeds such problems as:

• Violent crime
• Increased incidents between intimate partners
• Drunk driving
• Fatal driving accidents
• Alcohol poisoning

The mayor of London Boris Johnson officially announced recently that people who are taken into custody because of drinking will have to be fitted with the bracelet to make sure that they abstain from alcohol for 120 days after the conviction. The bracelet makes it virtually impossible for someone to slip a drink undetected, which people were surely able to do without being monitored by the bracelet. Once fitted, the bracelet has to be worn twenty-four hours a day and it can tell if a person has been drinking by examining an individual’s perspiration every half-an-hour. If a person has been drinking within the 120-day time period that one isn’t supposed to be drinking, the individual’s probation officer will be notified and the drinker will have to go to court again to either be re-sentenced or levied another fine. In the past the bracelet has served as a strong deterrent against someone reoffending again.

Bracelets Have Been Successful In The United States

London officials may have decided to enact these SCRAM bracelets because of the success they’ve had in the United States, particularly in South Dakota. Statistically, the bracelets have been proven to lower the amounts of people being caught drunk driving or incidents of domestic violence. Once people realize that they really can’t get away with drinking without their probation officer finding out than it appears that they approached sobriety with a more earnest approach. And now that people in London have to be fitted with the bracelet if they’ve been accused of drunken offenses, then it seems likely the bracelet will help deter them from drinking. In the long-term, London will be able to gather statistics to see if using the SCRAM bracelet significantly reduces the amount of alcoholics causing problems in London.

Bracelet Also Being Considered For Alcoholic Parents

London has also considered using the bracelets on parents who have problems with alcoholism. They want parents to wear the bracelets for six-month periods in specific child protection cases to help ensure the safety of the children. While widely used in the United States, the bracelets have recently become more popular in the UK, and more uses are being found to help combat alcoholism and the problems that it breeds.