Police are shooting James Bond-like GPS bullets at cars

[FarCenter]

Police in four U.S. states have begun using a new "gun" installed in squad cars that, when activated with a button inside the car, emerges from behind the front grill of the car to shoot GPS tracking devices at vehicles they are pursuing, according to the BBC.

Called "StarChase," the system is reportedly in use in Iowa, Florida, Arizona and Colorado, and it sounds pretty expensive. The BBC says it costs $5,000 to install to a squad car, and each GPS-enabled "bullet" it fires costs $500.

However, that cost may be justified when considering the potential costs and safety issues of the high-speed car chases the StarChase system could prevent. As soon as the GPS device is attached to the car, police are advised to stop chasing a suspect and simply track his or her location remotely. Police can then apprehend these suspects once they've reached an area with a lower chance of collateral damage.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/police-are-shooting-james-bond-gps-bullets-cars

[lame54]

1. They stole that from Grand Theft Auto

[Politicalboi]

2. Why not just shoot

A phone on the car. Costs less than $500.00. How is this going to work if the suspect changes cars. LOL!

[NoOneMan]

3. Its not going to work in that case

But the alternative is running over people. So, you know.

[unblock]

4. my iphone broke when i dropped it from my nightstand onto a thick rug.

i'm sure they could remove the non-essential parts and wrap it in something sturdy enough to reliably withstand the journey from cop car to suspect vehicle and stick there, but, well, there's your $500 price tag.

[gopiscrap]

6. or if sattelites are down

[Motown_Johnny]

15. Multiple police cars will track the car and try to be close by when it stops.

So if they do try to switch cars the police should be there to catch them as they do so.

[MineralMan]

5. Anything that stops deadly high-speed chases is worth the money.

We've recently had two uninvolved people die here in the Twin Cities due to those chases. They need to stop.

[madokie]

8. I'm sure there are downsides

But I wonder if it wouldn't be better than possibly causing a wreck that would cause harm to innocents people

Most everything in life is a trade off of some kind

[Downwinder]

9. Can't outrun a radio.

But hey, thats no fun.

[Initech]

10. Sigh. Only in America could we turn the global positioning system into a weapon.

[Kaleva]

11. That's what it's original intent was.

For use by the U.S. military

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. Uhhhhh....

[Codeine]

14. Something that tracks a car to prevent a dangerous chase is a weapon?

That's a remarkably silly viewpoint.

I would also point out that nearly every major weapon system on the planet, made by nearly every industrialized country you care to name, uses GPS in some part of its operation.

[petronius]

12. That's a cool idea, but if the police stop chasing what's to stop the person from

pulling over quickly and just yanking the thing off? And what happens if it fires when a pedestrian, cyclist, or motorcyclist is in front of the car?

Still safer than pursuits, however - I'm glad to see ideas on how to avoid those activities...