British police are considering using an American tracking system that could end the need for dangerous high-speed car chases. StarChase, which is currently being tested by police in Los Angeles, enables officers to fire a tiny, sticky GPS tracker onto a fleeing vehicle from a laser-targeted gun, either hand-held or attached to the police car’s grille. Officers can then track the car’s route by satellite and pinpoint a safe place to intercept.
Police in the UK hope the system will help cut the number of people killed and injured by police cars each year, which rose by 60% between 2002-03 and 2003-04 to 31 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries in England and Wales. To stop rogue drivers police often rely on a “stinger”, a strip of spikes placed in the path of a vehicle to puncture its tyres. Inspector John Pendleton of the Metropolitan police said: “Only last year two police officers in Leicestershire were killed while trying to employ a stinger. We need to look into it but this new system certainly sounds like a good idea.”