I’m In Hot Pursuit!

The immortal quote frequently repeated by the fictional Roscoe P. Coltrane has probably inspired many honorable men and women to enter into the law profession in the hopes of chasing and catching criminals. As Coltrane and his deputies managed to mangle many police cars in the original Dukes of Hazzard series, real police chases have often ended in the costly and sometimes tragic loss of property and life. Fortunately, high speed police chases and their resulting havoc may be a thing of the past with a new GPS tracking innovation created by StarChase.

The Problem with High Speed Chases

The script for a high speed chase often goes like this: A criminal breaks the law. An officer responds to the breaking of the law and the criminal predictably runs (or drives) away, as fast as he can. The officer chases the criminal at speeds well above the speed limit, endangering the lives of any and everyone who might be on the road or side of the road. The end result is often some kind of crash, because if you are running from the police, you are not planning on stopping willfully. If all that is damaged is property, it is not a problem – it can be easily replaced. Unfortunately, in too many cases it results in the loss of a life, usually of an innocent bystander.

The Solution to the Chase

Police in the city of Austin, Texas, have a solution to this problem. Using the GPS tracking technology put out by StarChase, police can air propel a GPS tracker that attaches itself to the suspect’s vehicle with a magnet. Once this happens, the police can back off and allow the suspect to drive away, which will cause the suspect to drive slower because no one is chasing him any more. Once the suspect comes to a stop, or perhaps at some kind of roadblock, the police can find him and arrest him without putting innocents at risk.

The Low Cost Solution to Save the High Cost of Life

The amazing thing with this technology is that the installation of the GPS technology and launcher only set back the people of Austin $5,000 per unit. The price is not cheap, but compared to the loss of life and property saved, it would appear to be an acceptable cost.

So if you are reminiscing about Roscoe P. Coltrane and his penchant for high speed chases, you might want to stick with what you see on TV. Car chases are a thing of the past. Protecting lives is the future.

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I’m In Hot Pursuit!