Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeMoon Security ought to call its ankle bracelets Jimminy Crickets -- or maybe just crickets for short.
That's because the company's ankle bracelets have the same function as the cricket who tried to keep Pinocchio in line in the old Italian fairy tale.
Drivers convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal narcotics may qualify to get the ankle bracelets attached instead of jail time.
In one wearer's words, quoted by the Herald's Kristin M. Kraemer, "It's like having the judge wrapped around your leg. He's right there with you."
The ankle bracelets report through Moon Security to the courts every little blip that indicates the wearer may have been drinking again.
Because of that, and the likelihood that instead of going to work the next day the offender may wind up back in jail, it is a powerful incentive to good behavior.
The system is known as Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor, or SCRAM. It samples the wearer's perspiration every 30 minutes to ensure he or she is complying with court-ordered sobriety.
The bracelet must be worn around the clock and can't be removed without alerting officials.
Tricks don't seem to work. Slices of ham and chicken skins apparently have been used to try to fool the machine but can't do it, Moon Security's people say.
It's a bit of modern technology that truly benefits society.
The monitors almost certainly keep many repeat offenders off the road. They also are credited with giving some offenders the courage (or fear) they need to keep away from alcohol.
And they allow offenders who behave to keep their jobs instead of going to jail, which may just help their families stay together.
It also lessens the load on the taxpayers, since the ankle bracelet costs are paid by the offenders themselves.
All in all, it's a good deal for everyone involved.
No, the offenders' noses don't grow longer if they disobey these Jimminy Crickets.
But their sentences will.
Editorials are the consensus of the Tri-City Herald editorial board.
Editorial board members are Rufus Friday, publisher; Chris Sivula, editorial page editor; Ken Robertson, executive editor; Matt Taylor, contributing editor; Lori Lancaster, editorial writer; Shelly Norman, editorial writer and Jack Briggs, retired publisher
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