Old Westbury police turning away from pursuits and toward GPS darts to track fleeing vehicles
OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. -- There is a new way to catch criminals without putting innocent people at risk.
Police pursuits are banned in many communities, but the chief in one Long Island village told CBS2 on Monday he has found a safer solution.
Goodbye high-speed chase, hello GPS darts.
"An air-powered launcher that shoots out GPS projectiles that stick to the back of the car," Old Westbury Police Chief Stuart Cameron said.
Cameron says the Starchase GPS fires a dart too slowly to hurt bystanders but coated with a powerful adhesive allowing police to track a fleeing vehicle. The police budget paid $36,000 to equip all six patrol cars.
"When you try and compare that to someone being injured in a high-speed pursuit or the liability created, I think it's a modest investment in safety," Cameron said.
Old Westbury's crimes have been have been nonviolent -- home burglaries and stolen cars -- with many racing away from the scene.
The month before Old Westbury got the GPS launcher the mayor, herself, was a victim while dining at a Willis Avenue restaurant.
"They took the keys directly from the valet and they stole my vehicle. The next day they came back and used my vehicle in a carjacking on Glen Cove Road," Marina Chimerine said.
She says the stolen car and suspects were later found in New Jersey. She believes their new GPS tracking system would have prevented them from returning.
Police chases are avoided and infrequent here, but an Old Westbury officer was injured in January after a suspect in a stolen vehicle rammed the patrol car.
The driver revved the engine and fled as the officer approached.
"If the car tries to drive away, you just press the remote and you tag it and now you are tracking the car," Cameron said.
And new in the arsenal are deflation devices.
"We pull them across the road, your choice to either run over and flatten all your tires on your car -- or stop," Cameron said.
He says on the narrow winding roads of the North Shore gradual tire deflation is safer.
"I don't think it will be long before we are tagging cars and flattening tires with these two devices," Cameron said.
The president of Virginia-based Starchase says police in more than 30 states are now using the devices.