Continuous alcohol monitoring (CAM) is a technology that can facilitate the identification and monitoring of drinking behaviour among offenders. This technology is designed to test insensible perspiration (vaporous sweat) excreted through the skin for the presence of alcohol. More recently, the technology has evolved into a non-invasive bracelet that monitors alcohol consumption 24/7 from any location. Since 2003, over 40 American states have implemented the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM®) and more than 54,000 offenders have been monitored to date. When properly implemented, this technology can enhance the supervision of alcohol-abusing offenders and improve the efficiency of monitoring. This document is the third in a three-part series. The first report, entitled “Continuous Transdermal Alcohol Monitoring: A Primer for Criminal Justice Professionals” was released in November 2006 (referred to as the Primer). It was designed to provide practitioners with an overview of the research, technology, and program approaches. The second report, entitled “Continuous Transdermal Alcohol Monitoring: A Practitioner’s Guide”, was released in September 2007. It was designed to assist practitioners with incorporating continuous alcohol monitoring technologies into existing supervision practices and protocols (referred to as the Practitioner’s Guide)1 . This third and final report in the series has been developed for agency administrators who are implementing CAM in their agency to supervise offenders. It seeks to address their concerns regarding the implementation of new supervision strategies in general, and continuous alcohol monitoring technology in particular. It provides guidance on a variety of issues including cultivating leadership, fostering agency and stakeholder partnerships, organizing community support , developing a supervision strategy, creating and maintaining training opportunities, generating funding, and designing an evaluation. Prior to reviewing this document, readers should familiarize themselves with continuous alcohol monitoring technology. More precisely, it warrants mentioning that a good understanding of the following three issues is crucial: • What does the research on continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring conclude? • How does the technology work? • Where does technology fit within supervision strategies that are part of court-based probation or treatment programs? More information about the science regarding continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring and the importance of research can be found in the Primer. In addition, this report also contains information on the technology and its applications. The Practitioner’s Guide further details the critical components related to implementation. In summary, after more than 70 years of — primarily laboratory — research into the science underpinning this technology, it has been clearly established that ingested alcohol can be validly measured in perspiration through the process of transdermal alcohol testing. However, only a few small-scale studies have focused on the functioning of the technology in the field and its influence on attitudes and behaviour of field officers and offenders. Accordingly, there is a need for large-scale, quantitative surveys and case-control studies to corroborate the initial findings coming from these small-scale, albeit promising studies. Accordingly, the importance of evaluation is discussed in this document. (Author/publisher)
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