StarChase Pursuit Management System

High speed chases are known to cause more harm then good as they almost always end in devastation. In high speed chases the chances are that either the police cruiser or the criminal on the run will be the cause of an accident and that pedestrians and or the participants will be injured. This is exactly what is meant to be avoided with the introduction of the StarChase Pursuit Management System. This system which hopes to put an end to dangerous chases is mounted on the front end of the police cruiser and fires GPS transmitters that stick to targeted vehicles. The system utilizes double-barreled compressed air cannons to project the transmitter which includes a GPS device, battery and cellular radio. In order to grantee a high degree of precision, the system includes a laser target which helps police aim the shot. Once the system has been attached to the fleeing vehicle it begins to transmit real-time data to the police over a cellular network regarding the location of the vehicle.

Pros

By adding the StarChase Pursuit Management System to police vehicles the government would be ensuring that far less people would be injured in car chases every year. This system would put an end to the nightmare of destructive high speed chases. With the StarChase Pursuit Management System the police only have to keep up with the suspect long enough to deploy the tracking device. Once this is achieved they can fall back and rely on the GPS, battery and cellular radio to provide the necessary information to covertly apprehend the criminal. The laser target allows for precise shooting. This ensures that when trailing the fleeing vehicle, that their shot is accurate. Another advantage of this system is that it is not very expensive. The system itself uses relatively inexpensive items and therefore would not be an unrealistic addition to police cruisers. As well, the system is highly accurate as it employs trackers which transmits the exact position of the criminal’s vehicle in real-time over a wireless modem. This means that dispatch can view the vehicles location in real-time making it quite easy to apprehend the suspect.

Cons

There are not many disadvantages to the StarChase Pursuit Management System, but there are some aspects of the system that cause some uncertainty. One area of uncertainty is with the compressed air cannons. The system is equipped with a laser target that helps with accuracy, but it is not guaranteed. A suspect that is on the run and driving at high speed may not be as easy to tag as the company would lead you to believe. If this system is added to police cruisers it will become common knowledge that this technology exists. Therefore, fleeing vehicles would make it as hard as possible for police to tag their cars with the tracking device. This could cause the suspect to try things such as swerving and weaving through cars to avoid being tagged. It can be argued that the driving done by those avoiding a police cruiser armed with the StarChase Pursuit Management System would be even more dangerous and destructive than by one without the system.

Sources:

1. “LAPD to use GPS projectile to chase crooks.” Tagroom. September 29, 2007. Retrieved from: http://www.tagroom.com/tags/starchase-pursuit-management-system/
2. Mack, Eric. “Cops Test Cannon That Fires Sticky GPS Beacons at Fleeing Cars.” Wired. September 29, 2007. Retrieved from: http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/magazine/15-10/st_gps
3. “How StarChase Works.” StarChase. September 29, 2007. Retrieved from: http://www.starchase.org/howitworks.html