Rogers County Using High Tech To Track Drunk Drivers

By Lori Fullbright, The News On 6

ROGERS COUNTY -- Rogers County is tracking drunk drivers with new technology.

In the past, there have been ankle monitors that can tell the courts where you are and there have been monitors that can tell if you're drinking, but now one ankle bracelet can do both.

It's called the SCRAM, and Rogers County is one of the first to use the new technology to give people a second chance at avoiding prison.

"I started drinking when I was 14," said Patrick Burton, a Drug/DUI court participant.

Drinking led to marijuana which led to a pain killer addiction for Patrick Burton. He already had a DUI when he got arrested for stealing pills from a pharmacy where he worked.

After six months in a prison boot camp program, he chose Rogers County drug court.

"I made a few pretty big mistakes right out of high school," Burton said. "Instead of going to prison and having that record for life, I have a chance to fix that, get the charges dropped."

Patrick must wear a SCRAM ankle bracelet. Every 30 minutes, it can tell through his perspiration if he's been drinking alcohol. Within 24 hours, the court will know too.

This device also attaches to his home phone, which tells the court immediately if he's not home during curfew, between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The devices allow people to work and take care of their families rather than have taxpayers pay to house them in prison, while also giving other citizens protection.

"We're concerned about these as being dangerous to the community so to try to mitigate that dangerousness, we have the SCRAM device on them for six months and they're paying for it themselves," said Ray Hasselman, Assistant District Attorney in Rogers County.

Rogers County currently has 57 people on the DUI Court docket. Twenty-two of them are wearing the new ankle monitors. Another 18 have interlocks, a device in their cars that they have to blow into before driving.

It costs Patrick about $100 a week, plus he's required to go to several counseling sessions and drug abuse meetings each week. He must do community service, be employed and get random drug tests.

"I guess drug court gets a bad rap," Burton said. "It's hard; it's stressful. People who don't want to do the program drop out and just go to prison and do their time, but it's a really good program.

"It's hard but it's worth it in the end, I think."

If Patrick successfully completes his program, his charges will be wiped off his record. If he doesn't, not only will he have to serve his five years in prison, they'll add two more to that, for a total of seven.