Don't Blame SCRAM
Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET
HOT ACCESSORY Lindsay's booze detector Yesterday, when the world stopped to gawk at Lindsay Lohan's unfortunate mugshot, the one question on everyone's mind was: What happened with that horrid ankle bracelet?
The consensus seems to be that the device failed. TMZ asks "Is the SCRAM a Sham?" and the LAT sarcastically declares "Hey, that SCRAM bracelet worked really well, didn't it."
But RadarOnline.com has learned that the device registered Lindsay's drinking exactly as it was designed to. "We're very confident that it was working properly," says SCRAM spokesperson Kathleen Brown. "In fact, there are a number of diagnostics that ensure it." But even though the bracelet registered the actress's alcohol intake, it isn't designed to transmit that information on the spot. Instead, it works in tandem with a modem, which resides in Lohan's home. Meaning Linds could have attended the binge drinking bonanza of the century, but as long as she stayed far enough away from the modem, the proper authorities would be none the wiser until (and if) she stumbled home.
Who are these proper authorities? Whoever Lindsay and her representatives wanted them to be. Brown notes that Lohan chose to wear the bracelet voluntarily, a gesture adopted by many people arrested for DUI in order to show good faith to the court. Maybe when Lohan returned home and her lawyer or mom was notified that she had been drinking, action would have been taken. Or maybe not. As it turns out, there's no guarantee of accountability when someone voluntarily wears a SCRAM, there's only good PR.
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