Police departments across the country now have a new weapon in the fight against crime with Starchase's GPS darts.
This concept uses adhesive GPS darts, shot from a mounted, compressed-air launcher behind a police cruiser's grille. Upon apprehension with a suspect or early chaser, an unremovable GPS dart fires, affixing itself to the culprit's vehicle.
From there, a web-based portal tracks movement of the fleeing vehicle in real-time with location updates at regular 3 to 5-second intervals.
Alternatively, an officer could use a remote control fob outside the vehicle.
StarChase costs $5,000 per police cruiser, with $1,000 yearly payments due after that. The initial $5,000 includes the cost of installing and training officers on how to use the technology.
StarChase offers supporting data on its success rates, claiming an average time of 1:45 minutes needed for suspects to slow down within 10 miles of the speed limit, and an 80-percent-plus apprehension rate. The company also cited 85 percent of pursuits started by non-violent offenders, which reduces the need for police to risk their own lives chasing a suspect who is not likely to fire at them.
Virginia Beach-based Starchase is a provider of GPS tracking technology to the public sector and government agencies. For more information on its "Pursuit Management Technology," visit StarChase.
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