Home Monitoring as DUI Penalty

Home monitoring, also called house arrest or home detention, is one possible penalty for a DUI conviction. It may be imposed as part of your probation or part of your sentence; you may even be confined to your home while waiting for trial. Home monitoring is often preferable to incarceration for many reasons, not the least of which is that an offender has the comforts of home and may even be able to continue to work.

How does home monitoring work?

The specific types of home monitoring vary by jurisdiction. In some places, you may simply be required to be home at a certain time to receive a phone call ensuring you have made curfew. In other places, you would be required to wear an electronic ankle or wrist bracelet that keeps you in range of the home unit; if you go beyond a certain distance, an alarm will sound. The bracelet must be worn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you try to tamper with the bracelet, the device will record the attempt — and a judge will not looking kindly upon this, so it’s best not to try to remove the bracelet or otherwise tinker with it. You may also be expected to answer random phone calls that check for your presence at home.

Other aspects of home monitoring may include alcohol checks through breathalyzer machines or through SCRAM devices, which also check your blood alcohol content.

Can I work while under home monitoring?

You are allowed to work while under home monitoring, and you are also allowed to peform routine daily tasks like going to the doctor, the grocery store, alcohol treatment meetings, etc.; your bracelet will fit under a pant leg, so there is no reason anyone would necessarily have to know that you are serving out a sentence.

For more information, be sure to consult an experienced DUI attorney in your area for how home monitoring provisions may affect you and your case.