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third time will see the offender in jail until a judge decides whether he or she may continue to participate.
• Only those awaiting trial will be eligible for the program, said Michael Myers, manager of Douglas County Community Corrections. Judges will make the tests a condition of bond. Those on probation for repeat DUIs will not be eligible for the program during the pilot phase, he said.
• "We'd rather start small and work out our kinks before we open the floodgates," said Myers, who expects about 200 participants in the Douglas County pilot program over the next several months.
• The program at Sioux Falls, S.D., which has a metro-area population of just under 230,000, sees about 400 participants in the sobriety program every day, twice a day, Myers said. But South Dakota has opened participation to those on probation for drinking offenses, as well as those whose drinking has contributed to domestic abuse charges.
• The Omaha metro area has a population of more than 865,000, Myers said, and would see a dramatic jump in the number of people it would have to test if it opens the program beyond those awaiting trial.
• Douglas County officials hope to secure grant money to help buy specialized ankle bracelets that monitor alcohol consumption through the skin and would lessen the number of people coming to the center to be tested. They would be available only to those who can show good reason for not being able to go to the center twice a day for testing -- such as a work schedule that conflicts with testing hours.
• The bracelets automatically alert law enforcement officials if they detect that a wearer has been drinking.
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