Police Can Use GPS Tags to Reduce High-Speed Car Chases

To reduce the need for dangerous, high-speed car chases, police      across the country are discreetly shooting GPS tags onto vehicles attempting to flee. The suspects' whereabouts are then plotted on a digital map so officers can cut them off, follow them home, or watch them from a safe distance.

StarChase uses a double-barreled compressed-air unit installed in the grille of a police car and loaded with twin 4.5-inch GPS projectiles. When the officer needs to pursue a suspect, he or she activates the launcher using an in-car console or remote key fob. The system uses laser acquisition to target the suspect's fleeing or stationary car and then shoots one of the GPS cartridges like a spud out of a potato gun at its rear end. Trevor Fischbach, president of Virginia Beach, Va.-based StarChase, declined to comment on how much force the projectiles exert when leaving the compressed-air unit but says they are not deadly to people when used as intended. They meet the U.S. Army Research Lab's "less-than-lethal" weapon standard.

The projectiles are tipped with an industrial-strength adhesive, so they stick. Once the suspect's car is tagged, the GPS module relays the car's coordinates, heading, and speed every 3 to 5 seconds to police dispatch. When officers know the tag is in place, they can pull back and wait for backup—they might even turn off their lights and sirens. Dispatch monitors the tagged vehicle on a digital road map and directs officers to where the suspect is headed. Thinking they are not being followed, suspects return to normal speeds or stop, allowing for safer apprehension. "Suspects who have been arrested via StarChase are now in jail".