The Police in Ramsey County, Minnesota, are utilizing Sticky GPS trackers to apprehend fleeing suspects with out resorting to harmful high-speed chases, The WaterStrider GPS tracker, developed by StarChase, is mounted on regulation enforcement autos and launched at fleeing automobiles utilizing a pneumatic launcher, attaching itself to the suspect’s car, offering real-time GPS coordinates and pace to the officers.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Workplace adopted StarChase tech within the spring of 2022, spending $36,000 on the product and tech assist. The expertise is seen as a safer various to high-speed pursuits, permitting regulation enforcement to trace suspects remotely from their computer systems and coordinate arrests extra safely.
The system consists of a launcher powered by compressed air, mounted on squad automobiles, or behind the grille of unmarked autos — The launcher holds two cylindrical monitoring gadgets which are fired on the suspect’s car utilizing a laser-assisted management panel contained in the squad automotive; As soon as connected, the GPS tracker relays real-time details about the car’s location.
The sticky GPS trackers are described as “part-magnet, part-adhesive” and are activated utilizing a heating ingredient that ensures the adhesive sticks even in moist or soiled circumstances. The trackers might be simply eliminated after suspects have been apprehended.
Woodbury police and town of Maplewood are additionally using StarChase expertise to scale back the necessity for high-speed chases. Woodbury police budgeted $60,000 for the system, presently put in in seven squad automobiles. The expertise has been profitable in aiding arrests and gives a safer various to conventional pursuits, which pose vital dangers to suspects, regulation enforcement officers, and the group.
StarChase’s monitoring tag. (Picture: Official website)
Beneath Minnesota regulation, using GPS trackers is restricted to monitoring stolen automobiles, and monitoring can solely happen for twenty-four hours (until prolonged by a search warrant). Regulation enforcement businesses should take away the GPS tracker as soon as the stolen car is recovered.
The expertise has confirmed efficient in lowering the dangers related to high-speed chases, with a mean suspect apprehension fee of 86% in comparison with a reported nationwide fee of 72% for conventional pursuits. Regardless of its success, regulation enforcement officers emphasize that the expertise just isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer and should be used judiciously in particular conditions.
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