Introducing myCAMprogram
Now available
Counterpoint Volume 9; Issue 2 - Article 4 (August 2025)
Jan Semenoff, BA, EMA
Forensic Criminalist
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Article information:Article: 1200 words (approximately 6-8 minutes)
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The myCAMprogram is now available:
In CAM cases, your best defence is a client who knows how to protect themselves before the first test.
Designed by a forensic criminalist with over three decades of experience, the myCAMprogram demystifies CAM devices, identifies common pitfalls, and teaches practical prevention strategies. Lawyers who “test drive” the course gain a clear understanding of its value as a proactive defence tool — and clients who take it receive the same step-by-step guidance that can protect their liberty and your case.
Why Proactive CAM Education Matters for Lawyers
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Continuous Alcohol Monitoring (CAM) has become a standard condition in impaired driving, probation, and pretrial release orders. Whether the device is a transdermal ankle monitor, handheld fuel cell tester, or ignition interlock, the stated expectation is total abstinence and strict compliance.
But in practice, the path from “clean record” to “violation notice” can be alarmingly short, and not always based on actual drinking. CAM technology, for all its claimed objectivity, is not immune to error. False positives can stem from:
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These realities are rarely explained to clients when devices are installed. Orientation typically focuses on how to operate the unit, not on the forensic vulnerabilities that can lead to unjust outcomes.
And, let's face it, the training is designed to protect the CAM device manufacturer, or the monitoring agency... NOT your client!
The Cost of Being Reactive
By the time a violation notice reaches your desk, you’re already in damage-control mode. The monitoring agency has flagged a number. The presumption of innocence is undermined. Hearings are set. Your client may have already spent time in custody.
Consider these real-world examples:
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In each case, documentation and forewarning could have prevented the violation or armed you with contemporaneous evidence for an early dismissal. Instead, the defence relied on after-the-fact reconstruction — costly, time-consuming, and uncertain.
How myCAMprogram Changes the Equation
The myCAMprogram was created to address this exact gap in the system: the absence of meaningful participant education that protects both the client and their lawyer’s case.
This online course, developed independently of any device manufacturer or monitoring agency, teaches participants:
- How their specific CAM device works — and its limitations
- The most common sources of false positives for both breath and transdermal monitoring
- Medical, dietary, and environmental factors that can create risk
- Prevention strategies tailored to daily life, work environments, and personal health
- Documentation techniques to preserve credible, admissible evidence
In under ninety minutes, clients gain the knowledge to prevent violations and the habits to record proof of compliance. Lawyers, in turn, gain clients who arrive prepared — with logs, receipts, photographs, and corroborating alcohol readings and other data already in hand.
Strategic Advantages for Defence Counsel
Referring your clients to myCAMprogram offers multiple benefits that go well beyond client goodwill:
- Reduced risk of avoidable violations
Clients understand what can cause false positives and how to prevent them. That means fewer urgent calls, fewer emergency hearings, and less disruption to your practice. - Ready-to-use evidence
The program trains clients to maintain a logbook, collect secondary breath tests, and capture supporting documentation. This contemporaneous record can make the difference in convincing a judge to dismiss or mitigate a violation. - Professional due diligence
A completion certificate shows the court your client took concrete steps to understand and comply with their conditions. It can also help counter any suggestion of wilful non-compliance. - Credibility with the bench
Judges respond to structured, independent education — especially when it’s focused on prevention rather than excuses. - Time and cost savings
Every violation avoided means less time spent on motions, expert reports, and contested hearings — and more time for substantive case work.
Confidential, Flexible, and Court-Friendly
One of the program’s strengths is its confidentiality. It does not report to probation, the court, or any agency. Participants control their own records and choose when to share them.
The course is available online, accessible from anywhere, and can be completed in one sitting or in short sessions. Most participants finish in about 60-90 minutes. For lawyers, that flexibility makes it easy to incorporate into a client’s preparation — At the start of monitoring, before a reported violation, as part of mitigation strategy.
Practice Tip: The best time to defend a CAM violation is before it happens. |
Shifting from Defence to Prevention
CAM devices are here to stay, and their use is expanding into more sentencing, bail, and probation contexts. That growth is not matched by improved reliability, greater procedural safeguards, or better participant education. In fact, the gap between technology and understanding is widening — and your clients are on the wrong side of it.
By incorporating myCAMprogram into your defence strategy, you move from reacting to violations to preventing them. You protect your client’s record and your own time. You give yourself better evidence if a violation is alleged. And you demonstrate to the court that you and your client took every reasonable step to ensure compliance.
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Top Five Highlights of the myCAMprogram
1. Science-Backed Education
Built by a forensic criminalist, the program cuts through myths and misinformation with evidence-based content.
2. Empowerment, Not Just Compliance
Participants learn how to protect themselves from false positives and unfair sanctions, instead of just being told to “follow the rules.”
3. Practical, Everyday Guidance
Step-by-step lessons show how to navigate daily life with a monitor — from handling hand sanitizers to dealing with medical conditions.
4. Lawyer & Court Credibility
The curriculum is designed with legal professionals in mind, ensuring participants can demonstrate understanding and responsibility.
5. Accessible for All
Two versions of every lesson — one professional, one simplified — ensure the content is usable by people with different literacy levels. more than 30 videos are included, and access to Counterpoint articles for a deep-dive if that is how your client learns.
1. Science-Backed Education
Built by a forensic criminalist, the program cuts through myths and misinformation with evidence-based content.
2. Empowerment, Not Just Compliance
Participants learn how to protect themselves from false positives and unfair sanctions, instead of just being told to “follow the rules.”
3. Practical, Everyday Guidance
Step-by-step lessons show how to navigate daily life with a monitor — from handling hand sanitizers to dealing with medical conditions.
4. Lawyer & Court Credibility
The curriculum is designed with legal professionals in mind, ensuring participants can demonstrate understanding and responsibility.
5. Accessible for All
Two versions of every lesson — one professional, one simplified — ensure the content is usable by people with different literacy levels. more than 30 videos are included, and access to Counterpoint articles for a deep-dive if that is how your client learns.
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