Virginia Beach, Va. – StarChase LLC, a company providing GPS tracking and pursuit management technology to law enforcement worldwide, announces they will present new data and offer product demonstrations at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) 120th Annual Conference and Exposition in Philadelphia from October 20-22, 2013.
The data is a result of test bed research funded by the National Institute of Justice and conducted by Dr. Geoff Alpert, a nationally recognized expert on police pursuits. The field trials indicate that law enforcement’s use of the StarChase system results in apprehension rates greater than 80 percent, with no injuries, fatalities or property damage. StarChase uses GPS technology to tag and track a fleeing suspect vehicle in near real time.
“High-speed pursuits are extremely costly and sometimes deadly. As a result, some communities have enacted no-pursuit policies, greatly compromising law enforcement’s ability to apprehend suspects,” said Dr. Geoffrey Alpert. Alpert’s report quotes officers referencing the technology as a ‘game changer for law enforcement’.
The new data shows that on average, a tagged suspect vehicle slows to within 10 miles of the posted speed limit in one minute 45 seconds. Suspects were apprehended in more than 80 percent of the cases observed. Additionally, there were no injuries, fatalities or property damage, according to the report.
“This is the first study of the StarChase system and it validates its place in law enforcement,” said Trevor Fischbach, president, StarChase. “We are confident these results will encourage continued adoption of this technology by the law enforcement community and pursuit accidents will end.”
In a study published in the 2010 FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Dr. Alpert found approximately 75 percent of interviewed subjects reported they would slow down once they were out of the range of police authority and visible emergency lights or sirens. StarChase data coming in from the NIJ trials supports this earlier study.
While the current research shows a great deal of promise, Alpert’s report also suggests the benefits of a comprehensive evaluation. On-going evaluation would explore deployment decisions and strategies, collect data on effectiveness, and document results in different situations and environments. Additionally, information would be gathered on officer and suspect perceptions of StarChase and the impact of the technology on the law enforcement agency, including behavior changes of officers without StarChase equipped vehicles.
The StarChase system uses a compressed air launcher mounted in the grill of a police vehicle to launch a less-lethal GPS device, which adheres to a suspect’s vehicle. The system can track and pinpoint a suspect’s vehicle location and speed in near real time. The tracking tag continually updates position coordinates, enabling dispatchers to track the vehicle’s movements on a secure map. Once tagged officers can fall back and coordinate a tactical “safe stop” to apprehend the suspect.
Dr. Alpert has been conducting research on high-risk police activities for more than 25 years, and has published more than 100 journal articles and 15 books. He has conducted major studies funded by the NIJ on police officer decision making and police use-of-force.
About StarChase
StarChase LLC (www.starchase.com) provides pursuit management and GPS tracking technology to law enforcement agencies worldwide. The tactical interdiction offers a safer alternative while still catching the offender. The StarChase system is a proven, less-lethal technology that provides a significant tactical advantage to law enforcement officers in failure-to-yield or high-risk flight situations. Once a vehicle is tagged, it enables a dispatcher to track the suspect in near real time using a web-based mapping program. With StarChase a potentially dangerous pursuit can be avoided, and the suspect can be safely apprehended. The privately held company is based in Virginia Beach, Va. and has been in operation since 2006. StarChase products are patent protected in the United States and worldwide.