Back in 1992 I thought up a way to eliminate or at least reduce the number of high speed car chases for law enforcement. My idea was to use a small animal tracking type of radio transmitter in a flare gun type shell that had a highly sticky and putty like tip that would stick to a vehicle after being fired at by a police officer. then law enforcement could back away and follow them by tracking the signal. Well that could have been a million dollar idea if I had patented it back then. Oh well.

Now we all know that high speed car chases are dangerous. In fact, there are more than 100,000 high-speed pursuits in the U.S. every year, endangering everyone involved in the chase - the suspects, the police and the public. And it’s an unnecessary danger; up to 85 percent of these pursuits are initiated by non-violent offenders. Plus, the economic impact is staggering, with hundreds of millions paid out in the U.S. annually due to insurance payouts, medical bills, workers’ compensation and lost wages.

The StarChase system is a commercial off-the-shelf solution comprised of a miniature GPS receiver, radio transmitter and power supply encased in a tracking projectile, and a launcher which can be hand-held or mounted on a police vehicle.

1. A compressed-air launcher, mounted behind the grille of a police cruiser, uses a laser to target the fleeing vehicle. It discharges a projectile containing the GPS receiver, transmitter and power supply.
2. The projectile adheres to the suspect vehicle and transmits coordinates back to dispatch.
3. The dispatcher then views the location and movements of the tagged vehicle in near real-time on a digital roadmap via a secure Internet connection.

Through the efficient use of technology, a high-speed chase has been replaced with a safer interdiction strategy.