""""LOS ANGELES - On second thought, just let him go, boys.
Incredible though it may seem, breathless car chases could be a thing of the past in Southern California. The Los Angeles Police Department has agreed to serve as a beta-test site for StarChase LLC's patented vehicle-tagging and -tracking Pursuit Management System.
The prototype system has been developed to eliminate the need for high-speed chases by launching a miniature GPS receiver at a suspect's vehicle. The pursuing officer fires the tag from a cruiser-mounted compressed-air launcher. The tag sticks to the vehicle and transmits its location coordinates to a central location, alleviating the need for high-speed pursuits of fleeing suspects.
As these chases can end violently, the StarChase system is a welcome solution.
"We believe this technology ... will potentially give police officers yet another tool to minimize the damaging risks associated with high-speed pursuits. My goal is to protect not only my officers, but the general public as well," said LAPD Chief William Bratton.
Trevor Fischbach, StarChase vice president of business development, said that the company hopes to start deploying commercial systems in late 2006.
