SCRAM Device Cost Per Month in Georgia: What to Expect

What Is a SCRAM Device?

SCRAM stands for Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring. It is an alcohol monitoring bracelet worn on the ankle. The bracelet reads transdermal alcohol concentration – the alcohol vapor that passes through the skin – every 30 minutes, around the clock. That is why this is called transdermal testing: the reading comes through the skin, not from your breath. It sends that data on to a monitoring center. The center alerts the court or the probation office if alcohol shows up. The point of continuous alcohol monitoring is a running record of alcohol consumption, not a single test on one day.

Georgia courts may order a SCRAM bracelet as a condition of bond, probation, or pretrial release. Judges often order it in DUI cases and in repeat alcohol cases. They also order it when the court wants steady proof that a defendant is not drinking. Under Georgia law, electronic pretrial release and monitoring programs may authorize a defendant to take part. Those programs may impose conditions that include restrictions on the use of alcoholic beverages, and orders directing the defendant to submit to testing. Under Georgia law, probation supervision may also require a probationer to wear a tracking device and complete substance abuse treatment programming as conditions of probation.

The call is up to the judge. Whether you get one depends on the charges, your record, and the facts of the case.

How Much Does a SCRAM Device Cost per Month?

No Georgia statute sets a price for SCRAM monitoring. So there is no fixed state-wide figure for the scram device cost per month. The charge is a market rate set by the private provider. It varies by provider and by county. Georgia law requires only that the fee for enrollment, equipment use, and monitoring be reasonable and nonrefundable. The code names no dollar amount and no daily rate. For a probationer watched by the Department of Community Supervision, these fees are set by rule of the Board of Community Supervision rather than by the statute.

No statute fixes the rate. So what you pay comes down to who holds the contract. A few things drive it:

• The vendor. Each provider sets its own daily rate. The court or the sheriff assigns one from the county's approved list.
• The county. The sheriff keeps the list of approved providers. The sheriff may remove one that charges an excessive fee for use and monitoring of the equipment. So the providers on offer in a county, and their rates, differ from place to place.
• GPS and extra features. A plain alcohol monitor costs less than one that also tracks where you go. Courts sometimes order both at once, and that pushes the daily rate up.

Before you agree to have it fitted, ask the vendor for a written list of every charge. Do not assume the daily rate is the only one.

What Fees Are Included in the Monthly Cost?

The full cost of wearing the device goes past the daily fee. You may be on the hook for several charges:

• Hook-up fee. A one-time charge at the start. The statute lets the provider charge a program enrollment fee but fixes no amount for it.
• Daily fee. The running charge, and the bulk of what you pay each month. It covers round-the-clock readings and review.
• Removal fee. Some providers charge to take the bracelet off at the end.
• Lost or broken gear. If the bracelet is lost or broken, you may owe the full cost to replace it.
• Supervision fees. Probation supervision is billed apart from the device. For probation supervised by the Department of Community Supervision, the code sets a probation fee of $23.00 for each month under supervision. There is also a one-time fee of $50.00 on a felony conviction. A person sentenced to probation for DUI pays a separate one-time fee of $25.00. On a misdemeanor supervised by a county or private provider, the court decides whether to require a supervision fee and in what amount.

In most cases the vendor bills you direct, not the court. The vendor takes the payment and reports to the court on how you are doing. Ask the provider for a full written fee schedule before the bracelet goes on. That is how you avoid a surprise.

Who Pays for the SCRAM Device?

In Georgia the defendant normally pays all of the costs. When a court orders alcohol monitoring as a condition of bond, probation, or sentencing, the fees fall on the person wearing the device.

Under Georgia law, a defendant in an electronic pretrial release and monitoring program must pay the provider. The statute calls it "a reasonable, nonrefundable fee for program enrollment, equipment use, and monitoring." The statute also states that timely payment is a condition of ongoing participation. A failure to make timely payments is a violation that shall result in the defendant's immediate return to custody.

The same statute allows for people who cannot afford it. It provides that indigent persons, as defined by the court and selected following indigency standards the court establishes, may have monitoring fees paid by the sheriff with the consent of the governing authority. The statute leaves those standards to the court itself. So you have to ask the court to apply them to your own finances.

If you cannot pay, talk to a Georgia criminal defense attorney about asking for a cut or a waiver.

What Happens If You Can't Afford the Monthly Cost?

Falling behind on payments can create serious legal problems. Under Georgia law, failure to make timely payment of electronic monitoring fees is a violation of the program and shall result in the defendant's immediate return to custody. For defendants on probation, nonpayment could trigger a probation violation hearing. On a misdemeanor probation sentence, where unpaid fees are the only ground, the court must set the matter on its next available calendar rather than issue a pre-hearing arrest warrant. The court must hold a hearing and ask why the payments were missed. It cannot revoke without an express written finding that the probationer made no sufficient bona fide effort to pay and that the failure was willful, or that no adequate alternative punishment exists.

If money is tight, do not just stop paying. Act on it early:

• Ask for an indigency hearing. Your attorney can ask the court to look at your finances. Georgia law directs the court to waive, modify, or convert supervision fees and other money it or a probation provider assessed once it finds a significant financial hardship or inability to pay. An indigent probationer is presumed to have one.
• Ask about a cheaper option. Your attorney may put a lower-cost plan to the court, such as a hand-held breath test with random checks, or alcohol screens in person.
• Set up a payment plan. Some providers will spread the cost. Ask your vendor what it offers.
• Raise it early. Courts take it better when you flag money trouble up front than when you flag it after the payments have lapsed.

What follows non-payment – the device coming off, a probation violation, or a bond revoked – costs far more than the device ever did. Raise money worries with your attorney and the court as soon as they come up.

How Long Will You Have to Wear a SCRAM Device?

How long you wear it is up to the court order. No Georgia statute sets a term for alcohol monitoring, but the case itself bounds it:

• Pretrial or bond monitoring lasts as long as the court allows. The court may revoke a defendant's participation in an electronic pretrial release and monitoring program at any time, in its sole discretion.
• Probation monitoring cannot outlast the probation. Georgia sets a DUI probation term of 12 months less any days actually spent in custody for a first, second or third conviction. On a fourth, the term is five years less any days in custody.

Length drives the total. Because the provider bills by the day, the total is its daily rate times the number of days the court orders, plus the enrollment and removal charges. No statute fixes that rate. So the only number you can rely on is the one your provider puts in writing before the bracelet goes on.

An attorney may be able to bargain down the length at bond or at sentencing. Things can also change while you are on the device. You may finish treatment, or show a long stretch of sobriety. Your attorney can then file a motion asking the court to modify or end the monitoring early.

Frequently Asked Questions About SCRAM Device Costs

How Much Does a SCRAM Device Cost Per Month in Georgia?

No Georgia statute sets a price for SCRAM monitoring, so there is no fixed state-wide scram device cost per month. The provider bills its own daily rate plus a one-time enrollment charge. Georgia law requires only that the fee be reasonable and nonrefundable. The amount turns on the provider the court or sheriff approves, the county, and whether GPS tracking is part of it. Ask for the rate in writing before the bracelet goes on.

Is the SCRAM Device Cost Covered by the Court or the Defendant?

The defendant normally pays all of the fees in Georgia. Under Georgia law, program participation fees require the defendant to pay a reasonable, nonrefundable fee for enrollment, equipment, and monitoring. The court may let indigent defendants have fees covered by the sheriff with the consent of the governing authority.

What Happens If I Can't Afford to Pay for My SCRAM Device?

Do not stop paying without taking it to the court. Failure to make timely payment is a violation of the monitoring program and shall result in an immediate return to custody. Your attorney can ask the court for an indigency determination. Georgia law directs a court to waive, modify, or convert such fees once it finds a significant financial hardship or inability to pay. Your attorney can also put a cheaper option to the court, or help set up a payment plan with the provider.

Are There Cheaper Alternatives to a SCRAM Ankle Monitor?

It depends on the case. A court may weigh other options, such as a hand-held breath test on a set or random schedule, alcohol screens in person, or plain random urine tests. These usually cost less than a SCRAM ankle monitor running around the clock. Your attorney can put them to the court at a bond or sentencing hearing.

Talk to a Georgia DUI Defense Attorney About Your Monitoring Conditions

Have you been ordered to wear a SCRAM device? Or do you expect one as a condition of bond or probation? A Georgia criminal defense attorney can help you weigh your options and protect your rights.

An attorney at Kohn & Yager LLC may be able to narrow the scope or the length of alcohol monitoring at your bond or sentencing hearing. If the monthly cost is out of reach, your attorney can file an indigency motion asking the court to cut or waive the fees. And if a missed reading or a missed payment leads to a probation violation or a bond revocation hearing, you want a defense lawyer in the room.

Do not wait for a missed payment or a disputed reading to turn into a bigger problem. Contact Kohn & Yager LLC today for a free consultation about your SCRAM monitoring conditions and your defense options.