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The Cincinnati Police Department is trying out sticky GPS darts to help catch fleeing suspects

A police launched GPS dart is attached to this truck in a demonstration of the technology to reduce high-speed police chases.
Starchase
/
Courtesy
A police-launched GPS dart is attached to this truck in a demonstration of the technology to reduce high-speed police chases.

Cincinnati Police are trying out some new technology designed to decrease the risks that come with high-speed pursuits. Officers can launch a GPS dart from the front of a cruiser and catch up with the suspect later.

Starchase makes the system called a vehicle mounted GPS launcher.

"The technology enables law enforcement to tag a suspect's vehicle," says Starchase President Trevor Fischbach. "So let's say it's a stolen car, human trafficking situation or narcotics vehicle, or a suspect who had outstanding warrants and he doesn't want to pull over for law enforcement."

Officers then activate the system, which is mounted on the front of their car, and shoot the dart at the vehicle they want to pull over.

Fischbach claims a 95% success rate in finding vehicles and an 85% arrest rate.

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"The speeds are greatly reduced and virtually all the risk is avoided," he says.

Starchase says police departments in 34 states are using their system and even some internationally.

The vehicle mounted GPS launcher is about $6,000 a car. Fischbach says, "That's much less than the billions and billions of dollars due to fatalities in traditional pursuit outcomes."

Corrected: April 10, 2023 at 11:39 AM EDT
A previous version of this article misstated the number of departments using the dart technology. It has been corrected.
Ann Thompson has decades of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting.