Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    London to test alcohol monitors for offenders

    By ROBERT BARR | Associated Press – Fri, Feb 10, 2012

    LONDON (AP) — London will be the first city in England to test electronic monitoring to force persistent alcohol offenders to stop drinking, Mayor Boris Johnson said Friday.

    Johnson said the program would use electronic bracelets to detect alcohol in perspiration of people convicted of serious drink-related offenses. The trial program is expected to start later this year.

    The mayor's office says alcohol is a factor in a million violent crimes in Britain annually. The London Ambulance Service responded to nearly 52,000 incidents last year involving alcohol.

    Electronic devices which continuously monitor alcohol are used in several U.S. states. Offenders who break their no-drink order can be sent to jail.

    In South Dakota, 77 percent of offenders who chose the option of wearing the monitor stayed off alcohol, according to a report in the Argus Leader in December.

    "The success of South Dakota proves that removing alcohol really reduces violent crime," said Kit Malthouse, London's deputy mayor for policing.

    "Although criminals may protest, this may be the short sharp shock they need," he added. "Offenders will have to ask themselves if a drink is really worth a night in jail?"

    Legislation to permit such testing is now before Britain's Parliament.

    British authorities have not disclosed details of the devices to be used in the trial.

    One system used in the United States, manufactured by Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. of Littleton, Colorado, checks every half hour for ethanol vapor in low levels of perspiration on the skin.

    The company says this does not determine exact levels of alcohol in the blood, but it can distinguish whether the person has consumed a little, moderate or large amount of alcohol.

     

    9 comments

    • Noneya
      Noneya  •  3 mths ago
      How can you tell if anyone's drunk over there? They all drive on the wrong side of the road.
    • Eric1
      Eric1  •  3 mths ago
      I think you will find they are the ones frozen to death by the roadside.....
    • melee401
      melee401  •  3 mths ago
      When are they going to figure out a way to make the chronic greedy-doers stop doing greedy things?
    • Harry Kneecaps
      Harry Kneecaps  •  3 mths ago
      Why does everyone worry about a big brother government but ignore the big brother corporations? Your cell phones and credit cards are loaded with tracking devices. Corporations watch everywhere you go and everything you buy.

      Then I see people complain about government violating our constitutional rights ignoring hoe corporations violate our rights. Apply for a job and if you have poor credit in many cases you wont get hired. Youre poor credit makes you a theft risk. Youre accused and convicted without your right to face your accuser or have a trial.

      Wake up. Government isnt your only problem.
    • Bill White
      Bill White  •  Saginaw, Michigan  •  3 mths ago
      The is something Orwellian about the British government !!! Big Brother an all that rot !!
      • Nunya
        Nunya 3 mths ago
        The US started the monitoring first; did you miss that part? Quite frankly, criminal offenders should lose a part of their liberties when their crimes endanger the rest of the public.
      • Basil
        Basil 3 mths ago
        Want to guess which country has the most police-run security cameras installed in public places in their biggest cities? Unfortunately, UK wins again. Your arguments do not hold much water I'm afraid. You see there is a thing called jail, and you send crims there, but not many who enter learn anything about being better citizens and controlling their consumption of drink. Whatever methods are used to do this monitoring while they are out of jail will be circumvented, or replaced with other substances. The real problem is that there is no rehab in jail itself, they make it a separate business. Combine the two, and perhaps you can cure some of life's ills. Leave it like it is, and you end up having to create expensive technological solutions to problems you did not resolve with psychological ones while in incarceration. Do you understand, or do I need to reply to your other reply? :P
    • Brian
      Brian  •  Texarkana, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      Another plus for SOCIALISM ! Alcoholism bad, YES. Invasion of privacy to this extent, NO. The slippery slope is open and has been well waxed. Next, governments will be monitoring tabacco content in sweat and then the fat content of YOUR body and then telling you what and where to eat and with whom you can sleep or what you can and cannot read. Beware the abuse of power by government my friends.
      • Nunya
        Nunya 3 mths ago
        Criminal offenders should lose a part of their liberties when their crimes endanger the rest of the public. This is not being used on the general population, but only on those convicted of alcohol related crimes. If you don't do the crime, you have nothing to worry about.
      • bopdaddy
        bopdaddy 3 mths ago
        until it comes to America
      • Scott
        Scott 3 mths ago
        Did you read the article Bop? This is already in America. Just another punishment for a crime. Be an alcoholic, be as stupid as you want, and don't worry about a bracelet unless you commit a crime doing it.
    • bopdaddy
      bopdaddy  •  Johnston City, Illinois  •  3 mths ago
      and here I thought England was a free country
    • just me
      just me  •  3 mths ago
      that's right - put bracelets on them without letting them have a holiday beer ... let freedom ring
      • A Yahoo! User 3 mths ago
        They can get violent when they are sober, or do they need a drink to get the courage to start a fight.
    • Scott
      Scott  •  3 mths ago
      Ok. I understand the free country and big brother arguments, but how is this any different than someone being court ordered to attend A meetings, or someone wearing an ankle bracelet on house arrest. My only point is, if someone wants to be an alcoholic, fine. If they want trash there own house or be stupid doing it, fine. However, if someone has committed a crime to require a sentence that involves this, than they are responsible for there own fate. And yes, this is coming from someone who drinks too much. Of course, too much is a relative term, as most people who drink too much will tell you.
     Post a comment
    [ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    News For You

    Loading...