Wednesday, November 13, 2013

GPS Tracking Gives Police a Safe Alternative to High-Speed Car Chases

High-speed car chases make-up some of the most intense action movie sequences on film. Movie-goers love the thrill of the chase as the good guys pursue the bad guys (or, in some cases, it’s the bad guys doing the pursuing) with bullets flying, tires screeching, and if you’re lucky, a jump, a crash, and an explosion. In real life, though, those kinds of car chases cause great collateral damage, including death of officers and innocent victims in the case of an accident. That’s why the St. Petersburg, Florida police department has begun testing a GPS tracking-based alternative to car chases.


police carGPS tracking and law enforcement have a long, somewhat rocky history as disputes about search warrants and privacy rights litter the legal landscape. But in this case, GPS tracking presents a common-sense solution that could save lives.


The danger of a car chase lies in its high speed and the recklessness of the car under pursuit. The new device would eliminate that threat by literally shooting a GPS tracking device onto the fleeing vehicle and then enabling officers to track the car’s course from a distance. Police cars would be equipped with a grill-mounted air cannon which could fire the unit. A soft adhesive would attach the GPS device to the other car, eliminating the need for a chase.


Of course, the idea isn’t without snags. One problem is that the police car would need to be relatively close in order to fire the air cannon accurately. Another is the potential cost of outfitting an entire fleet of vehicles with the new equipment. However, proponents argue that the potential for reducing the number of accidents sustained due to high-speed chases and for eliminating accident-related injuries and deaths would be worth the cost.


A third potential problem arises from the already sticky history of GPS tracking and law enforcement. Privacy laws in many states require an officer to obtain a warrant before placing a GPS tracking device on a suspect’s car. The question of whether a GPS tracking device fired from a cannon during a high-speed chase would run into that same problem is one that shouldn’t be dismissed lightly.


Still, the idea of reducing danger and preventing accidents, injuries, and deaths makes this new device an important innovation in terms of GPS tracking and law enforcement. Perhaps the Mission-Impossible type equipment could be the start of a newer, safer era for police officers.



GPS Tracking Gives Police a Safe Alternative to High-Speed Car Chases

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