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> 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
by roarcher 3y 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.
- tokai 3y agoThe should get a launcher in the hood of a squad car instead. In pursuit they can tag following and then peal off.
- Brybry 3y agoFor anyone not aware, this does actually exist. If you look on youtube there are a few examples of police using vehicle-mounted launchers in real chases. [1][2] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJTYQx5qMlc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJTYQx5qMlc [Florida State Police/Highway Patrol] [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2H9A8kV-zA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2H9A8kV-zA [Austin Police]
- roarcher 3y agoInteresting, the devices in both those videos are made by the same company that makes the handheld launcher from the article.
- wisnoskij 3y agoIf NY is like some Toronto, I imagine traffic is so bad that vehicle chases dont really happen anywhere near the center/important parts of the city, which is why they are focusing on hand held devices.
- jimbob45 3y agoThe only situation I can think of where it would maybe work is at a DUI checkpoint We don’t do those in America - you might catch someone actually important!
- majormajor 3y agoYou aren't going to the right party neighborhoods ;)
- autoexec 3y agoI've seen them in the US (rarely). I think they just mostly just bury any record of it when someone important enough gets caught. More common are the checkpoints near the boarder where they stop people "just because"
- tivert 3y agoI don't know what percentage of car chases are of professional criminals, but reliance on GPS device like this to end a car chase might allow them to evade capture. GPS jammers are apparently cheap and easy to make, and someone who's stealing cars or robbing might be unconcerned with also comitting an FCC violation. If the cops shoot one one and hang back enough for the suspect to get out of sight, they could lose the person they're chasing once the jammer is enabled. https://hackaday.com/2020/09/08/teardown-mini-gps-jammer/ https://hackaday.com/2020/09/08/teardown-mini-gps-jammer/ https://greetwin.en.made-in-china.com/product/LFyTJkOHwCcd/China-Portable-Vehicle-GPS-Jammer-Anti-Tracking-Car-GPS-Blocker-GPS-Signal-Jammer-2-Antennas-Gpsl1l2.html https://greetwin.en.made-in-china.com/product/LFyTJkOHwCcd/C... Since these use adhesive, they might also be able to be defeated by a dirty vehicle.
- 0xcde4c3db 3y agoI wouldn't take it for granted that these actually use GPS at all, let alone exclusively (e.g. they might also use cell tower or BSSID triangulation). It's pretty common to use "GPS" generically for other methods of automated geopositioning.
- varenc 3y agoI think "professionals" just avoid a car chases in the first place? My take is that most people trying to outrun the cops aren't going to be so highly technical and well prepared. (as a digression: GPS jamming might not be the best approach, but that depends on what the StarChase does. It would probably make more sense to jam its transmission capability, which presumably relies on cellular, rather than try to jam its GPS reception capability. If GPS is effectively blocked but the device can still transmit it could still attempt to locate you using cell towers or wifi BSSIDs.)