GPS Tracking System Provides Safer Alternative to Vehicle Pursuits

The Raleigh Police Department will soon be able to track vehicles that evade a traffic stop without having to pursue them, decreasing risk to pedestrians, motorists, and officers.

The Raleigh City Council on Tuesday accepted a donation from the Raleigh Police Department Foundation to acquire StarChase trackers.

StarChase is a GPS tracking system that launches adhesive-backed GPS tags onto fleeing vehicles. This allows officers to disengage from dangerous, high-speed pursuits and track suspects safely from a distance.

Twenty patrol vehicles will be equipped with the launchers, which shoot out a device that adheres to the suspect vehicle, relaying its position back to the department's command center. That information can then be relayed to officers.

RPD received a $174,620 donation from the Raleigh Police Department Foundation for the system.