By Police1 Staff
BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada — A Canadian police department has equipped their vehicles with GPS dart technology in an effort to increase officer, suspect and civilian safety.
According to CBC News, the Delta Police Department is the first department in Canada to outfit their patrol vehicles with StarChase technology.
“We really knew that we needed to have some additional tools in order to capture the offenders while mitigating risk to the general public because we know through experience there’s inherent risk involved when you’re engaged in a pursuit,” spokeswoman Sharlene Brooks said.
The department had over 70 incidents in which drivers failed to stop in 2016.
The first deployment went off without a hitch when an officer saw a vehicle driving erratically Wednesday evening.
The officer feared the driver would flee if he turned on the lights and sirens, so he deployed the dart before turning them on, CTV News reported.
The driver stopped and was issued a citation.
Currently, Brooks said eight patrol vehicles are equipped with the technology. There are no plans to expand the use of the system until the force can see how well it works.