Car Chases Could Be A Thing Of The Past Thanks To New GPS Technology

Police are testing a new high-tech American device that could put an end to the car chases that so enliven episodes of TV police shows.

The StarChase has been developed by a police force in the USA and enables officers to shoot a tiny, sticky GPS tracker onto an escaping vehicle. The laser-guided trackers can be fired from handguns or weapons hidden behind police car grilles, and allow them to track vehicles by satellite without a dangerous high speed chase.

Police in the UK hope that they can use the device to cut down on the number of people killed or injured every year by police cars.

We all know car chases are dangerous. High-speed pursuits endanger everyone involved in the chase - the suspects, the police and the public. And it's an unnecessary danger; most of these pursuits are initiated by non-violent offenders. Plus, the economic impact is staggering, with hundreds of millions paid out annually due to insurance payouts, medical bills, workers' compensation and lost wages.

The StarChase system is simple to operate. A compressed air launcher uses a laser to target the fleeing vehicle. It discharges a tag containing the GPS module. The projectile then adheres to the suspect vehicle and transmits coordinates back to dispatch. The dispatcher then views the location and movements of the tagged vehicle in near real-time on a digital roadmap via a secure internet connection.

As well as reducing the dangers and risks involved in police pursuits, the StarChase Pursuit Management System saves time, money and – most importantly – lives.

There have also been fears that new run-flat tyres would make "stinger" devices currently used to bring speeding criminals to a halt redundant. While the device is a motor insurance preferred technique it is nonetheless dangerous, with two police killed while using a stinger last year.

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