Did SCRAM Reduce Rearrest or Delay It? A Two-State Study

A program can be associated with later rearrest among people who are eventually rearrested while showing no clear reduction in how many people are rearrested overall. A 2015 NHTSA report tracked Wisconsin and Nebraska cohorts for two years after the original arrest and examined both outcomes.

Read the percentage and the clock separately

Rearrest percentages for the SCRAM and comparison groups were 7.6% and 6.2% in Wisconsin and 9.8% and 7.7% in Nebraska. Neither difference was statistically significant. Among participants who were rearrested, the SCRAM group had longer times to rearrest in both states. Those conditional timing results describe the people who had the event.

What to ask about the comparison

The study was observational. People assigned to monitoring could differ from comparison participants in baseline risk, and rearrest depends on detection and enforcement as well as conduct. If someone cites this study to support a monitoring program, ask which outcome they mean, which participants were included in that calculation, and whether it covers the monitoring period or the entire follow-up.

Source

Comparative Study and Evaluation of SCRAM Use, Recidivism Rates, and Characteristics, NHTSA, 2015