ST. PETERSBUG --
The St. Petersburg Police Department is the first agency in Florida to get some cutting edge 'James Bond' like technology aimed at reducing high speed pursuits.
"We are willing at the police department to try something new," said Asst. Chief Melanie Bevan.
The StarChase system contains a miniature GPS tracker encased in a sticky module that can be launched from a police cruiser grill onto the fleeing vehicle. That allows the officer to stop the pursuit and track the vehicle in near real-time on a digital road map.
"A lot of times we have to let vehicles go," said officer Jenna Price. "At least now we’ll be able to shoot the round out and see where they go to and hopefully, eventually, catch the people who flee from us."
Since 2012, there's been 39 pursuits in St. Petersburg that caused $91,850 worth of property damage, killed two fleeing and injured 9 citizens who were not involved in the chase, according to SPPD records. Police hope the new system will reduce the dangers and risk associated with high speed pursuits.
"No more fast chase pursuits," Price said. "You’ll be able to let the vehicle cool down, go back to driving normally, normal speeds, and just kind of follow the vehicle on a map while staying a safe distance away.”
Link

