FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE :    Monday, May 20, 2013
CONTACT:  Sara Rabern (605)773-3215   

 
Attorney General’s Office Releases Testing Results for Ignition Interlock Device

PIERRE, S.D  - Attorney General Marty Jackley today released the testing results of the ignition interlock devices. The devices were added to the 24/7 Sobriety Program in October of 2012. Since being added, 119 participants passed 124,771 tests with a pass rate of 99.5%.
 

“The 24/7 Sobriety Program has shown to be an effective means to combat drunk driving using technological advances such as the ignition interlock device,” said Jackley. “This offender pay program takes the burden off taxpayers by keeping qualifying offenders out of jail yet holding them accountable for their actions. This in turn can have a long term positive impact on their lives, their families and their employers.”
 

Ignition interlock is a device installed in a motor vehicle. Before the vehicle's motor can be started, the offender first must exhale into the device and produce a clean test. This particular system is set up with a camera designed to detect if someone other than the offender is testing.  The offender is required to test twice a day, whether they drive their vehicle or not.  The system is also equipped with a GPS that will pinpoint the offender’s location on a map for each test. There is an additional feature on this device that requires a retest within the first few minutes after the vehicle is moving and then additional retests at random intervals as long as the vehicle remains in motion.

The ignition interlock, as all the other 24/7 testing methods, are defender pay.

 
Ignition Interlock
Average daily cost for six month time frame $4.25

SCRAM Bracelet
(Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) ankle bracelets that continuously monitor wearers for alcohol consumption
Average daily cost for six month time frame  $6.44 

Preliminary Breath Test
Twice a day breath test $2.00 ($3.00 a day first 30 days)

Drug Urinalysis
Per test     $10.00
Per Week    $20.00

Drug Patch
Per patch    $40.00
Per day    $4.00

In 2005, then-Attorney General Larry Long implemented his idea of the 24/7 Sobriety Program as a pilot project in three counties in South Dakota,  and in 2007 the state legislature unanimously approved the formal creation of the program. Currently 67 agencies participate in the program, including police departments, sheriff's offices, and the Unified Judicial System.

Here are the most current program statistics:

Preliminary Breath Test (PBT)
February 2005-May 1, 2013
• 29,372 participants
• 5.96 million tests administered
• 99.2 % pass rate

Urinalysis
July 1-May 1, 2013
• 3,276 participant
• 81,299 tests administered
• 96.6% pass rate

Drug Patch
July 1, 2007- May 1, 2013
• 169 participants
• 1,847 tests administered
• 88.6% pass rate

SCRAM Bracelet
November 15, 2006- May 1, 2012
• 5,335 participants
• 808,507 total days monitored
• 77% fully compliant

Ignition Interlock
October 1, 2012-present
• 119 participants
• 124,777 tests passes
• 99.5% pass rate

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