Police officers now have an alternative to engaging in a dangerous high-speed pursuit.
"Pursuits happen at times," White Settlement Police Chief Christopher Cook said. "There are reasons why police departments have to engage in them, but they can be very dangerous not only to officers but also to the community."
That's why there's a new tool for officers to use so that they can back off the pursuit but still make it easy to arrest the suspect. It's called the StarChase system.
"Essentially, there's a GPS launcher on the front of the patrol vehicle," Cook said. "The officer can activate the system, and it launches a GPS tag. There is a magnet and adhesive. It's really difficult to get off the vehicle once it attaches. Once it hits the car, we're able to disengage, because it activates a GPS map; and at that point, our dispatch center can direct officers to the location once the suspect stops moving in the vehicle."
The officer can launch the GPS tag either from inside the vehicle or by pressing a button on a key fob if a suspect pulls away while the officer is approaching on foot.
The goal is to increase public safety by not engaging in dangerous high-speed pursuits when it might not be completely necessary.
"It's just another tool for our officers to be able to consider when they're in an active vehicle pursuit," Cook said. "Because we want to reduce the dangers to the community and also the officers."
The White Settlement Police Department is among the first police departments in North Texas to implement the technology.