Space-Age Hot Pursuits
GPS launcher system helps cops catch fleeing drivers without high-risk chases.
Whether it’s Steve McQueen in Bullitt, Arnold in The Terminator or those good ol’ boys in The Dukes of Hazard, high-speed car chases have generated some of Hollywood’s most memorable scenes on TV and the big screen.
In real life, however, car chases are scary, deadly and expensive for police, perpetrators and the public alike. In the United States alone, studies suggest about 600 police officers, suspects and innocent bystanders die annually in high-speed chases, which average about 100,000 per year. And their costs are enormous. One study analyzing car chases from 1998 through 2003 put combined losses at $3B nationwide during the six-year period.
Now, rather than risk injuries, deaths and lawsuits by pursuing nonviolent suspects in high-speed chases, StarChase allows police to tag fleeing cars with a GPS device and follow them online until finding a safe site to coordinate an arrest.
The Virginia company says it can provide departments with a safer, more certain way to nab fleeing drivers by taking this less aggressive approach. The StarChase Pursuit Management System allows officers to send a high-tech GPS-based hitchhiker along for the ride and then monitor the vehicle’s location and movement in real-time until finding a safer place and time to make the arrest.
September 16th, 2010 at 6:15 am
Um.. the thing has an off switch… what if it’s found? Should have a cover plate to conceal face.