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NYPD Can Now Shoot GPS Trackers at Your Car
- PeterCorless 4y agoI am less concerned about the NYPD and other de jure police and sheriff departments having this, and more concerned when they get into the hands of civilians that are creepy men stalking ex-wives and underage women.
- celim307 4y agoConsidering the history of effective oversight and regulation of local police, there’s no difference between the two groups you described
- ransackdev 4y agoSorry to be the one who brings you up to speed, but this is just adding one more option for both the gov and civilians to track people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fog_Reveal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fog_Reveal As for randos tracking women, or anyone, this is already happening https://www.npr.org/2022/02/18/1080944193/apple-airtags-theft-stalking-privacy-tech https://www.npr.org/2022/02/18/1080944193/apple-airtags-thef... https://www.komando.com/security-privacy/modified-airtags-used-by-stalkers/824882/ https://www.komando.com/security-privacy/modified-airtags-us... and trackers are a dime a dozen it seems, complete with cellular data plans https://www.amazon.com/s?k=gps+tracker+for+vehicles https://www.amazon.com/s?k=gps+tracker+for+vehicles
- roarcher 4y ago> > That projectile travels at a claimed 37 miles per hour, and has a straight-forward range of 35 feet — though the company claims that, with an arc, it can theoretically reach 60 feet. This launcher doesn't seem very capable of hitting a moving vehicle, in spite of what their marketing might imply. It would be much easier and more covert to just use an Airtag, which stalkers already do.
- delfinom 4y agoYou can actually just buy GPS+Cellular trackers off Amazon already. And they are far far more discrete than this literal soup can sized tracker that the NYPD would be using.
- yamtaddle 4y agoPeople aren't gonna buy weird, single-purpose, short-range tracker-launchers when they can just stick the tracker on the car when nobody's looking.
- roarcher 4y agoPrediction: the NYPD is never going to actually use this thing. Maybe some vastly improved future iteration, but not this one. > the NYPD has invested $19,500 on the Guardian-HX venture. That's pocket change to the NYPD. It's not clear from the article what "invested" means, but they probably bought and handed out a small number of launchers to a few officers to see if they prove useful. I'm skeptical that they will. > That projectile travels at a claimed 37 miles per hour, and has a straight-forward range of 35 feet — though the company claims that, with an arc, it can theoretically reach 60 feet. Good luck hitting a moving vehicle with that.
- mschuster91 4y ago> Good luck hitting a moving vehicle with that. It's not like police already doesn't care about accuracy when shooting at vehicles.
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- roarcher 4y agoThe only thing this seems likely to hit is the ground.
- redeux 4y agoI think you’re probably right about them not actually using this but the implications of the capability are more interesting. There are potential privacy issues that could be troubling if not managed well, but it also has the potential to reduce the number of dangerous pursuits.
- roarcher 4y ago> it also has the potential to reduce the number of dangerous pursuits. I agree that it does in concept, I just can't see them reliably tagging vehicles with a launcher as anemic as this one. The speed and range of the projectile is significantly less than an average healthy adult could achieve by throwing it. The only situation I can think of where it would maybe work is at a DUI checkpoint. An officer could be standing next to the vehicle with the launcher, ready to fire as soon as it starts to move. Even then they'd better be quick about it.
- whoomp12342 4y agowhat if the tracker scratches/dents/damages your car? How does the GPS unit adhere? does that leave a residue? Are they going to pay for that??
- kotaKat 4y agoI'm assuming if you're not actively trying to get pursued by a law enforcement official this isn't a problem.
- robertlagrant 4y agoI might be wrong, but it's my impression people can get their doors kicked in and their computers seized, returned 6 months later with hard drives wiped. No recourse, or very slow and painful.
- wahnfrieden 4y agoAnd your money stolen without being returned https://www.npr.org/2023/03/24/1165822372/afroman-police-raid-lawsuit-music-videos https://www.npr.org/2023/03/24/1165822372/afroman-police-rai...
- whoomp12342 4y agohorse shit! LEO can miss and hit someone elses car. Also, just because you are being pursued doesnt mean you are guilty of a crime. Cops can be creeps.
- officeplant 4y agoIf the tracker hits your car you'll probably be guilty of stealing[1] law enforcement property. [1]https://futurism.com/cops-charge-man-stealing-gps-tracker https://futurism.com/cops-charge-man-stealing-gps-tracker
- kube-system 4y ago
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- arealaccount 4y agoInteresting this is built on an AR-15 lower receiver, with the detachable magazine being a battery. I'd think it would be a lot easier and cheaper to build one of these from the ground up instead of using a real not-electric firearm
- thatguy0900 4y agoIf the government is investing in you they might have a lot of surplus gear you can use for a reduced cost. And it's attractive to tell police forces that they don't have to train marksmanship on a entirely new platform for your device.
- hyperhopper 4y agoI mean, you can get 6packs of lower receivers as a civilian for like what amounts to 30 bucks each. They are not expensive.
- AlgorithmicTime 4y agoWhy? AR lowers are ludicrously cheap and common. You're going to need a generally "rifle-like" form factor for ease of use, so why not go with the most common design, and save money on things like pistol grips, buttstocks, etc? And the manual of arms is known to everyone who'll be using it.
- tyingq 4y agoI imagine it's deliberate appeal to the demographic.
- everforward 4y agoAR-15 lowers are pretty cheap. Seems like ~$60 on the cheap end at consumer (non-wholesale) prices. That's without a buffer spring and stuff, but I don't think this thing even uses/needs those. There are some advantages to it, though. The article calls out accessories being interchangeable. The company doesn't have to make/sell different stocks and what not, people can just buy their existing favorites for the AR-15. The ergonomics are probably more familiar (e.g. adjusting the length of the stock, where the safety is, etc). You could also theoretically use the same lower for both this and an actual AR-15, although I doubt the utility of that. Most police departments probably have enough cash to just buy both.
- local_crmdgeon 4y agoEverything else aside, this is pretty sci-fi
- oh_sigh 4y agoFor $20k they probably only got a few devices - possibly 1. What are the odds that the police officer with one of these few devices is the officer nearby when a pursuit happens? And they have a partner in their car ready to use the device? Effectively zero. I think this would be better implemented as a drone which could smash into the car and have the same tracking abilities. Then it could be launched by any officer even if they're not within 35 feet of a car, perhaps steered autonomously or by an officer back at the precinct, or even dropped from a police helicopter.
- supernova87a 4y agoRather than worry about this little tracking peculiarity, my mind wanders to a future where the govt is smart/capable/evil enough to be connecting all the cameras in buildings, cars, etc. into one place that constantly monitors for license plates and is able to tell: -- anyone who has been driving around with a car registered in another state but hasn't relocated it to that state within a month (avoiding taxes -- CA I'm looking at you) -- backtracking where someone who committed a crime came from, and has gone -- etc. Maybe somewhere this is already being done.
- ChuckNorris89 4y agoI think this is already the norm in Israel. Your every move is monitored on CCTV.
- Cardinal7167 4y agoIt’s already the norm in the US too. License plate readers have existed for like, a decade, and most cop cars I see in my state have them visibly mounted.
- thatguy0900 4y agoDoesn't need to be cop cars. Many tow truck companies have agreements to mount these sorts of cameras for the police.
- matthewaveryusa 4y agoYou mean Palantir?
- avidiax 4y agoThis is a thing already. Planes flying in circles above major US cities with dozens of cameras recording time lapses. The geolocation warrants being served against Google are also pretty similar. Come up with all the phones in the area when the fire was set, etc. https://radiolab.org/episodes/eye-sky https://radiolab.org/episodes/eye-sky
- Imnimo 4y agoI don't even understand what the proposed use case for this is. Is it supposed to be that you're in a car chase and rather than continue a dangerous pursuit you shoot this thing at the suspect and then just go find them later? Won't they notice and just stop and dispose of the tracker unless you're hot on their tail?
- V__ 4y agoYou could follow from a safe distance (or go parallel to the suspect) and track until air support is in place, or set up a few road blocks and box the suspect in. By the time you stop and remove the tracker, the police could just catch up and shot another pair of trackers.
- HDThoreaun 4y agoCar chases have been banned in large cities because they often lead to injuries to bystanders and cops and then gigantic lawsuits. So yea the plan now is to find them later and I guess gpsing the car could help.
- AYBABTME 4y agoExactly for making car chases less necessary. Just get in range to shoot, shoot and then track the fleeing car more safely from a distance.
- lagniappe 4y agoNo. It can't be. Someone is shadowing him. Right off his left flank. A person on a skateboard rolling down the highway right behind him. The Deliverator, in his distracted state, has allowed himself to get pooned. As in harpooned. There's a big round padded electromagnet, on the end of an arachnofiber cable. It has just thunked on the back of the Deliverator's car and stuck. Ten feet behind him, the owner of this cursed device is surfing, taking him for a ride. Skateboarding along like a water-skier behind a boat.
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- DueDilligence 4y ago[dead]
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