Police are using GPS tracking darts to tag fleeing vehicles and avoid dangerous pursuits

[Shawn Knight]

Tag, you're it: Police departments across the country are exploring safer alternatives to risky car chases, drawing inspiration from technology commonly depicted in spy movies to achieve their objectives.

The Old Westbury Police Department in New York has implemented a novel approach to address fleeing vehicles during car chases. They have outfitted some cruisers with vehicle-mounted launchers that deploy foam projectiles containing heat-activated sticky glue from a company called StarChase.

The non-lethal projectiles are equipped with a wireless GPS tracker, enabling law enforcement to monitor a tagged vehicle's location in real-time without having to give chase. The darts are fired using compressed air, and travel at roughly 30 mph. Because they are made of foam, they should not cause any permanent 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 highlights, some have wondered aloud whether or not the tracking system violates Fourth Amendment rights. If used "in the kind of way that everyone probably imagines," like catching up to a suspect as soon as possible (not letting them drive around so police can learn things about them) and removing the dart as soon as the suspect has been apprehended, then it should not be an issue, said ACLU senior policy analyst Jay Stanley.

To be clear, the tracking system is not going to end all chases. A decision on whether or not to terminate a pursuit will no doubt involve the severity of the alleged crime committed. What's more, police will still have to tail a suspect vehicle long enough to successfully deploy a tracking dart. And should the anti-chase measure gain widespread traction, you can be sure that criminals will eventually start to pull over and check their vehicle for trackers after police have stopped chasing them.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Would you rather police tag fleeing cars with GPS darts instead of chasing them and risking innocent lives, or is this too much of a privacy concern?

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/102448-police-using-gps-tracking-darts-tag-fleeing-vehicles.html

 

[The Talking Tech]

About time we start using tools as such that were possible all along since the existence of the GPS.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

About time we start using tools as such that were possible all along since the existence of the GPS.

There are still major concerns over such tech being abused to remove privacy, not to mention the courts have to agree these things are legal or else court cases that use them will be thrown out, which takes FOREVER to do.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Better decades late than never I guess.
Is the tech cheap enough to make saving human life worth it now?

 

[redgarl]

I cannot believe this was not something COTS before now. We have seen that stuff for years on TV shows.

 

[Dreadcthulhu]

Clever, but as the article mentions as soon as they start getting popular any non-retarded criminal will pull over and disable the tracker when they lose the police. Granted, a good portion of criminals are in fact really, really dumb, so it will probably help catch some without having to risk dangerous chases. That said, some criminals do have some brains to them, and I could see them prying off the tracking devices and sticking them on random nearby cars or the like; that sort of thing could easily cause innocent people to get a surprise SWAT visit.

https://www.techspot.com/news/102405-apple-find-app-led-missouri-swat-team-raid.html

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I cannot believe this was not something COTS before now. We have seen that stuff for years on TV shows.

The same TV shows that have some hacker that traces someone's TCP address through the GUI layer?

Better decades late than never I guess.
Is the tech cheap enough to make saving human life worth it now?

This post reminds me of people who cry about how we should have mandated EVs 20 years ago, and think the only reason we didnt was collusion between Big Oil and Big Battery to prevent magic EV utopia in 2000, the same groups that shut down the water fueled engine.

LOL.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

Again the privacy issue. People want Police to do their work to deter and reduce crime but some will hinder their tools that can be effective. Police will always be in a catch 22.

 

[Thrackerzod]

As soon as these become common won't criminals learn to just stop and take the dart off once they're out of sight? Maybe even pull a "Johnny Five" and attach the dart to another vehicle.

 

[p51d007]

My "small" county (250,000 population) sheriff has been using these for several years.
Before everyone got all woke/pc, they were even shown on an episode of "Live PD"

 

[The Talking Tech]

There are still major concerns over such tech being abused to remove privacy, not to mention the courts have to agree these things are legal or else court cases that use them will be thrown out, which takes FOREVER to do.

Concerns about privacy?
It's not like this tracker wouldn't be heard or felt the moment it sticks to a car like the massive magnet that it is.

Any other concerns were unjustified as it could have had far more benefits than inconveniences.

 

[Axeia]

The same TV shows that have some hacker that traces someone's TCP address through the GUI layer?

I remember that gem

 

[quadibloc]

Innocent lives are obviously a far higher priority than any percieved privacy rights of criminals.
But this technique will only work if there are enough police cars available in the right places to approach the fleeing cars from the other direction.

 

[Watzupken]

Makes me wonder if they will fire an Apple Airtag to a fleeing car...

 

[mbk34]

The dart travels at just 30mph? So how does it catch up with fleeing vehicles? Surely it would be better to use drones to just provide a birds eye view and allow traps to be set. Another alternative is the Grappler which grabs the back tyre of a vehicle and slows it down.

 

[umeng2002]

If the cops back off and come to a house after the fact from these GPS trackers, it is no longer a hot pursuit; and they would have to obtain an arrest or search warrant for the property where the car is located.

Intercepting the car before it finishes it's flee would be the legal way.

 

[umeng2002]

There are still major concerns over such tech being abused to remove privacy, not to mention the courts have to agree these things are legal or else court cases that use them will be thrown out, which takes FOREVER to do.

Unfortunately, in our legal system, court challenges only occur after someone has already been charged and convicted. I really wish we had judicial review prior to a law being enacted, and those lawmakers who pass unconstitutional laws be censured some how.

 

[manowar51]

I dont really see how this breaches your privacy. The police might just find out where you live. Which if you were obeying the law they could do by checking the registration. They still need a warrant to arrest you or search your house.

 

[BadThad]

Took long enough. High speed pursuits are far too dangerous to the public.

 

[wiyosaya]

So, this thing moves at 30 MPH when it is fired. The problem I see with this is simple physics. If cops want to fire it at a car, they better make sure that the car they fire it at is not moving more than 30 MPH faster than the cop car that fires it, otherwise, it will never catch the fleeing car. DOH! I can see this thing not being all that easy for the cops to successfully use.

 

[RudyBob]

Most police are not good shots BUT since they will probably not be being shot at or worried about being shot at they can take sometime with the aim. I hope they work well. It's a good idea

 

[yannus]

That said, some criminals do have some brains to them, and I could see them prying off the tracking devices and sticking them on random nearby cars or the like; that sort of thing could easily cause innocent people to get a surprise SWAT visit.

So, this thing moves at 30 MPH when it is fired. The problem I see with this is simple physics. If cops want to fire it at a car, they better make sure that the car they fire it at is not moving more than 30 MPH faster than the cop car that fires it, otherwise, it will never catch the fleeing car. DOH! I can see this thing not being all that easy for the cops to successfully use.

I'm amazed to see how random readers in this forum are able to find the flaws of this tech when so called experts praise the thing without any discernment.

 

[VaRmeNsI]

I'm amazed to see how random readers in this forum are able to find the flaws of this tech when so called experts praise the thing without any discernment.

Experts sometimes get paid extra not to be experts.

 

[Subset6]

“ Because they are made of foam, they should not cause any permanent damage to vehicles or the public.”

That’s exactly what everyone thought when it was suggested foam could not have possibly brought down Space shuttle, Columbia.

 

[maxxcool7421]

Bullets' move faster.