Executive featu re
Alcohol-related crime has a significant impact on public
services and the demand for policing so forces are
looking at radical solutions, including seeking
abstinence to form a condition of sentences or an
alternative to prosecution. Forces trialiing alcoholdetection tags explain how they are developing
evidence on their effectiveness in the UK.
Securing sobriety
n the UK, evidence suggests alcohol is a factor in 50per
cent of all offences. Average alcohol consumption in the
past 30years is believed to have increased nine per cent,
with alcohol misuse costing the nation's economy £21
billion a year - £11billion in alcohol-related crime.
It is no surprise, then, that the police service, government
and academia are increasingly focusing on strategies to
reduce alcohol's impact and lessen the strain on public
services in these straitened times.
In Northamptonshire, the force has become the first in
the country to use alcohol-detection tags, informally called
'sobriety bracelets', as a criminal justice intervention. The
tags, using the SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring™
(SCRAM CAWM) system distributed by Alcohol Monitoring Systems Ltd, automatically sample a person's perspiration every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day. This information is
transmitted to a base station and the data is then analysed.
Police Professional spoke to some of the key stakeholders
in the development and analysis of alcohol-detection tags
in the UK and their impact on offenders.
I
Scotland
While the devices are used extensively across the US, there
has been relatively littleresearch into their effects in other
countries. A 2013study carried out by the University of St
Andrews, in conjunction with the University of Glasgow,
tested the devices on 60male undergraduate and postgraduate university students - the first time such devices had
been piloted outside the US. An AUDIT(Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) questionnaire, in which the students stated the number of drinks and units consumed in
the previous 14days, was used to identify those considered
suitable for the study. Those selected - neither alcoholdependant nor teetotal - were found to generally drink in
16 WWWPOLICEPROFESSIONALCOM
excess of recommended daily limits (around 3.5 units).
More than 41per cent consumed more than 21units of alcohol during either of the two weeks covered in the AUDIT
questionnaire.
The students were split into three groups: group A were
fitted with the alcohol-detection tags and asked to stop
drinking; group B were asked to stop drinking but not fitted
with the tags; and group C were fitted with the tags but told
not told to change their drinking behaviour to monitor the
impact on alcohol consumption as a result of wearing the
tag. The data was independently analysed by Alcohol Monitoring Systems. Those who broke the rules by drinking
were reminded by telephone not to consume alcohol, but
there was no punishment.
Of the original 60 participants, 53 completed the study. In
group A, only 7.69 per cent consumed alcohol during the
trial; in group B, 47.62per cent consumed alcohol; and in
group C, 94.74 per cent consumed alcohol. The results
clearly indicated the potential impact of the devices - those
who were asked not to drink and who wore the tags were
far less likely to begin drinking than those in groups Band
C. Additionally, the heavy drinking rate registered in group
C clearly indicated the presence of the tags alone was not
enough to encourage behavioural change.
Another similar pilot has been carried out at Barlinnie
Prison in Scotland, which allowed prisoners released from
jail to wear an alcohol-detection tag. However, there were
no measurable sanctions for removing the tag or breaking
conditions. Results are due later in the year.
These trials have been coordinated by the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) in Scotland, whose co-director, Karyn
McCluskey, has promoted the Scottish pilots. Three-and-ahalf years ago she travelled to Denver, US, to visit the
SCRAM operation and returned with around 300bracelets
May 22, 2014
Executive feature
to enable research into their use. She says these pilots were
not enacted with the aim of testing the technology's effectiveness, but instead the situation where they would prove
most effective.
"Weknow [alcohol-detection tags] work. It is our ability to
deliver it that is the challenge," she said.
"This is just technology - it is fabulous technology, but it
is just technology. It is how you support them to stay off
drink and maintain a sober life that is the real challenge."
She added that what she was looking for was "behaviour
change", saying the impact on both the problem drinker
and their family and friends from giving up or reducing
alcohol intake could be significantly positive.
However, the studies were crucial to explore how the tags
can best be used in a UK context, particularly considering
the UK's relationship with alcohol compared to the US.
"We have a huge drinking culture over here - we drink to
get drunk," Ms McCluskey said. "I'm not saying that
doesn't happen in certain places in the States - but it is very
different. "
The benefit of the devices, Ms McCluskey said, is to give
people a true indication of their drinking, with many
believing their intake is far lower than the actual amount
of alcohol they are consuming.
Additionally, many people's social networks have alcohol
as a central element. For a binge or problem drinker, this
can make stopping extremely difficult because of peer pressure. Using the tags gives people who want to avoid alcohol
an excuse to stop; pejorative comments are arguably less
likely when the person is wearing a tag and has an excuse
to abstain.
The key, Ms McCluskey said, is to help people find solutions to their drinking problems, something that requires
assistance from a range of services.
"I just think we need to be brave; we need to think of different ways of looking at alcohol-related offending. We
need a bit of a backbone. We cannot punish people out of
this behaviour, you need to support them and that's why
health is really important - there's real partnership work
in doing this," she said.
"We have focused on drugs for so many years and the
services available for alcohol, particularly in our jails, have
been less and less.
"This is about our ability as the public and third sector to
support people," she added.
The use of alcohol-detection tags, Ms McCluskey said,
could be beneficial when it is mandated with "positive
reinforcement" to incentivise behaviour change.
She said community service orders, forms of
unpaid work and other punishments are ways the
police could ensure people wearing the tags stop
drinking. She said previous experience in this
area, especially in the Barlinnie trial, suggests a
solely voluntary scheme does not have the required
impact and that mandating the tags' use proves much
more likely to instigate behavioural change.
The introduction of the devices in Scotland comes at a
time when the Scottish government is considering, or has
implemented, a number of legislative changes to tackle the
country's alcohol problems. Minimum pricing has passed
through the Scottish parliament and the use of alcohol
detection tags has formed part of the government's recent
electronic monitoring consultation, drawing a positive
response from Police Scotland, albeit one calling for further
May 22, 2014
behaviour change
through the tags.
Matthew Mitchell tags provide a just,
fair punishment
that can reduce
alcohol-intake.
clarification on the types of offences it could be used with
and how it would be monitored.
Matthew Mitchell, the UK country manager for Alcohol
Monitoring Systems, said using the tags provides a "just,
fair punishment" that, if used correctly, can reduce alcohol-intake.
"For those who struggle with alcohol, the emphasis is on
providing a meaningful period of sobriety in which they
are either afforded the opportunity to engage in additional
services that address the issues they are having or they are
held accountable for not following the conditions and therefore can be availed to further treatment options, as well as
further punitive measures," he explained.
The English pilots
Northamptonshire Police is looking to develop an understanding of how the tags can work effectively,how they can
be best applied, what people they are best suited to and how
to manage that person. It sees the pilot as a way to learn
and create an evidence base for the devices' successful
deployment.
The initial pilot will run for six months, with the option to
extend it by another ten. There will be 15 devices used in
the study, and although no limit has been put on the number of people who will be included on the scheme, a small
sample size is expected. The force will consider making the
length of time people wear the tags flexible commensurate
with the offence committed and caution given. For example, some of the people deemed eligible for the pilot could
wear it over weekends, others continuously for 30, 60,90 or
120days.
As the tags' use is based on offenders accepting them as
part of a conditional police caution, the pilot is the first in
the UK to use the alcohol-detection tags as a criminal justice intervention. Anyone wearing the devices who does not
remain sober can be dealt with in the same way as any
other conditional caution - a further warning can be
handed out or they can be charged with the original offence
and taken to court.
As well as analysing the tag-wearer's perspiration for
alcohol every 30 minutes, the tags will also record any
obscure events or any indication that the tag has been tampered with, ensuring wearers comply with the pilot.
The man leading the pilot, Chief Inspector Dave Spencer,
the operational lead for violent crime reduction at
Alcohol
monitoring - the
SCRAM 'sobriety'
bracelet and base
station.
WWWPOLICEPROFESSIONAL.COM
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