VIDEO: Lindsay Lohan's New BFF, The SCRAM Bracelet -- See How It Works
May 24 2010, Published 1:10 p.m. ET
Lindsay Lohan might have escaped jail and maintained her freedom -- for now -- but she’s doing it with a new BFF.
LiLo’s new pal is a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor, or SCRAM.
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And while the SCRAM certainly is not the haute couture LiLo is used to, the bracelet is much more sleeker than the last time she voluntarily wore it, back in 2007.
“It’s quite a bit different than the one that was being used in 2007 in that it’s a lot smaller,” said Kathleen Brown, a spokesperson for the company that manufactures the device.
“It’s about the size of a deck of cards that you wear on the outside of the ankle.
“She will find it much, much more comfortable... and it’s much easier to hide underneath pants.”
Lindsay was installed with her SCRAM inside the Beverly Hills courthouse, where Judge Marsha Revel ordered the troubled star to be abstinent from alcohol and drugs, while her case is pending.
Here’s how it works.
The SCRAM helps monitor people with alcohol addiction by testing the individual wearing the bracelet's sweat every 30 minutes.
“It’s basically like a breathalyzer for your ankle,” Brown said.
“Once every 30 minutes, a little pump comes on inside the bracelet and takes a sample of what’s called insensible perspiration.
“That’s how it decides if there’s alcohol in her system.”
The device reports results to a modem placed in an offender's house, which reports to an internet based application monitored by a special government agency.
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“However, if someone is a high risk offender they might ask for them more frequently and that can be done as often as six times a day,” added Brown.
The SCRAM has become a popular tool used by courts to help defendants help overcome their addiction.
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Traditionally, courts had employed various monitoring methods, including random or daily breath testing or even attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous.
And the SCRAM, it seems, works: the average compliance rate of offenders with bracelets is about 71 percent.
Until Judge Revel decides Lindsay can remove it, Lohan must wear the device at all times -- even in the shower -- or a pool.
And just in case you were thinking... the ankle bracelets are tamper-proof.