Los Angeles Turns to GPS Devices to End Deadly Police Chases
Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) — Los Angeles police have surrendered to their city’s obsession with televised car chases. They’re hoping now that new technology will mean safer pursuits, fewer accidents and even fewer getaways.
The LAPD will become the first department in the U.S. to adopt a Global Positioning System device to track fleeing drivers. The gadget, manufactured by StarChase LLC, will be fired onto a suspect car, and then will transmit location information to officers who can stay a safe distance behind. Read more here:
Interesting concept. Something like this has long been needed. Police can’t just ignore vehicles that refuse to stop or runaway from police officers. Often these “runners” are very dangerous folks with outstanding warrants and/or contraband. But the downside of pursuing these miscreants is seen nearly every night on TV .. or at the least every Saturday on “Cops”.
High speed chases are dangerous, expensive and frequently end in failure. This new StarChase technology takes a simple, self-contained GPS tracking unit, packages it with a battery, wraps it in sticky epoxy and lets police ’shoot’ it at fleeing cars with a sort of oversize paint gun.
I think this is one of the smartest uses of my near and dear GPS technology to come around in many a year. I haven’t got the cost details on these puppies yet, but I will soon, I’m considering selling them in my business. They are advertised as affordable, however and I doubt they’ll costs more than a few hundred each (and of course be re-usable). The car being tracked is followed on a secure web-based system, so there’s no expensive receivers or other computer equipment for the departments to purchase.
Out here in the wide open spaces of Colorado, Wyoming and other ‘Big Sky’ states this is especially appropriate. I’ve seen cases of folks with souped up cars who run from the police just for the challenge. It’s impossible for every police agency to buy and keep running cars that can match the speed of any vehicle on the road, and it’s dangerous to do so. Just tag the offender and pick him up when he has to stop for gas. A good thing I think Martha would say.