Day, it’s your turn: Police departments across the country are exploring safer alternatives to risky chases, taking inspiration from technologies often used in spy movies to achieve their goals.
The Old Westbury Police Department in New York has adopted a novel approach to countering fleeing vehicles during chases. Some patrol cars have been equipped with vehicle-mounted launchers that fire foam projectiles with 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 darts are fired using compressed air and travel at about 30 miles per hour. Because they are made of foam, they should not cause permanent damage to vehicles or the public.
Ministries in Washington, Texas, Michigan and Tennessee have also adopted the system, but not all are convinced of its legality.
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As The Drive points out, some have wondered aloud whether the tracking system violates Fourth Amendment rights. If it's used “in the way that everyone probably envisions it,” such as catching up to a suspect as quickly as possible (and not letting them drive around so police can learn about them) and removing the arrow once the suspect is apprehended, then it shouldn't be a problem, said ACLU senior policy analyst Jay Stanley.
To be clear, the tracking system will not end all chases. The decision whether or not to end a chase will undoubtedly depend on the severity of the alleged crime. Moreover, police will still need to follow a suspect vehicle long enough to successfully deploy a tracking arrow. And should the anti-chase measure take hold, you can be sure that criminals will eventually stop and check their vehicle for pursuers after police have stopped the pursuit.
What do you think about this? Would you prefer police to mark fleeing cars with GPS arrows instead of chasing them and risking innocent lives, or is this too big a privacy issue for you?
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