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 legislation enforcement autos and launched at fleeing automobiles utilizing a pneumatic launcher, attaching itself to the suspect’s automobile, offering real-time GPS coordinates and pace to the officers.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office adopted StarChase tech within the spring of 2022, spending $36,000 on the product and tech help. The know-how is seen as a safer various to high-speed pursuits, permitting legislation 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 can be fired on the suspect’s automobile utilizing a laser-assisted management panel contained in the squad automotive; Once hooked up, the GPS tracker relays real-time details about the automobile’s location.
The sticky GPS trackers are described as “part-magnet, part-adhesive” and are activated utilizing a heating component that ensures the adhesive sticks even in moist or soiled situations. The trackers may be simply eliminated after suspects have been apprehended.
Woodbury police and town of Maplewood are additionally using StarChase know-how to scale back the necessity for high-speed chases. Woodbury police budgeted $60,000 for the system, at present put in in seven squad automobiles. The know-how has been profitable in aiding arrests and offers a safer various to conventional pursuits, which pose vital dangers to suspects, legislation enforcement officers, and the group.
StarChase’s monitoring tag. (Image: Official web site)
Under Minnesota legislation, the usage of GPS trackers is proscribed to monitoring stolen automobiles, and monitoring can solely happen for twenty-four hours (except prolonged by a search warrant). Law enforcement businesses should take away the GPS tracker as soon as the stolen automobile is recovered.
The know-how 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. Despite its success, legislation enforcement officers emphasize that the know-how just isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer and have to be used judiciously in particular conditions.
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