The 24/7 Sobriety Program began in Pennington County in February, 2005. The program began as
a pilot program from Attorney General Larry Long's office.
Each site applied for a three-year
grant to cover the expenses of the PBT machines and the tubes used in testing each client. Clients
are referred to the 24/7 Program as either a condition of their bond or by their probation/parole
officer.
In the beginning there were three part-time technicians and a supervisor. Now the 24/7 staff
consists of nine part-time techs, one support staff and a full-time supervisor. As of May, 2009, 757
clients are in the program. Each client is required to be at the center for testing
between the hours of 6-9 am and 5-9 pm. If a client has a positive reading or
fails to appear for their tests, it is considered a violation of the 24/7 Program, Dispatch is
notified immediately and an officer from the Pennington County Sheriff's office takes the person to jail.
Each client has a criteria set forth for them to follow to be compliant with
their conditions of bond. Some clients are required to do two PBTs and a random UA every
week. Others have to do either PBTs or UAs, according to the judge's or probation/parole officer's discretion.
The program criteria set by the Attorney General's office requires that the person does two PBTs per day
and one random UA per week. Others are classified as Pennington County 24/7
participants because of the different criteria.
-- 24/7 Program Hours --
7 days a week
6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
For more information contact Tessia Johnston by e-mail
or phone: (605) 716-7366
This website is provided as an information service to Pennington County citizens. Use of this website constitutes acceptance of its Terms and Conditions.
Each site applied for a three-year
grant to cover the expenses of the PBT machines and the tubes used in testing each client. Clients
are referred to the 24/7 Program as either a condition of their bond or by their probation/parole
officer.