Day, it's you: Police departments across the country are looking for safer alternatives to risky car chases, drawing inspiration from technologies often depicted in spy films to achieve their goals.
The Old Westbury Police Department in New York has introduced a novel approach to combating fleeing vehicles during chases. They have equipped some cruisers with vehicle-mounted launchers that fire foam projectiles containing heat-activated adhesive from a company called StarChase.
The non-lethal projectiles are equipped with a wireless GPS tracker, allowing law enforcement to monitor the location of a marked vehicle in real time without having to give chase. The arrows are fired using compressed air and travel at a speed of about 30 miles per hour. Because they are made of foam, they should not cause any lasting damage to vehicles or the public.
Departments in Washington, Texas, Michigan and Tennessee have also adopted the system, but not everyone is convinced of its legality.
As The Drive points out, some have questioned loudly whether or not the tracking system violates Fourth Amendment rights. When used “in the ways that everyone probably imagines,” such as catching up with a suspect as quickly as possible (not making him drive around so the police can find out about him) and removing the arrow “Once the suspect is arrested, then it shouldn't be a problem,” said Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst for the ACLU.
To be clear, the tracking system will not stop all chases. The decision as to whether or not to stop a prosecution will undoubtedly depend on the seriousness of the crime allegedly committed. Additionally, police still need to track a suspicious vehicle long enough to successfully deploy a tracking arrow. And if the anti-pursuit measure is widespread, you can be sure that criminals will eventually stop and check their vehicle for tracking devices after the police stop the pursuit.
What do you think about that? Would you rather the police tag fleeing cars with GPS darts rather than chasing them and risking innocent lives, or is that too much of a privacy risk?
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