20 Aug 2014
The starting point for this discussion is not global positioning systems (GPS). It’s the dangers inherent in high speed police chases. While you might assume that these chases are rare, and that they generally involve apprehension of those suspected of committing serious felonies, this is not the case. Here are some statistics you may find both interesting and surprising:
- Most police pursuits involve traffic violations, not murders, kidnapping, sexual offenses or other major crimes. More than 90% relate to non-violent crimes.
- Nationwide, someone dies every day as the result of a police pursuit.
- In a recent year, on average, one police officer was killed every six weeks as the result of a police pursuit.
- Over 40% of those killed in police pursuits were innocent third parties.
These are some pretty startling statistics. And they exist even while the reporting system to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is voluntary. Couple this with the questionable bases for non-inclusion of many chase-related accidents, and it is no wonder that the NHTSA figures are suspect. As an example, many DUI chases that lead to a fatality are reported solely as DUI deaths. Moreover, children in a fleeing vehicle are not counted as victims in these reports. In fact, it has been estimated that the actual number of deaths may be two to three times higher than the figures published by the NHTSA.
So along comes a company marketing a device known as StarChase, described by the manufacturer as technology designed for “pursuit reduction.” The concept is rather simple. There is a system installed in the front of a police car that shoots a small GPS module. The module sticks to the back of the fleeing vehicle. This enables officers to avoid a high speed chase, and to back off and track the location through the GPS.
A pilot program for the new system was launched by the Austin PD, and we’ll be interested to know if it has any significant effect. In the meantime, however, it is clear that the dangers of high speed police chases clearly outweigh, in the vast majority of cases, the risk of allowing a suspect vehicle to flee.
Law Office of David D. White, PLLC
1201 Rio Grande Street #200
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 369-3737