Los Angeles police will propel a GPS device onto a fleeing car. The device will stick to the car and track its location. That’ll hopefully reduce dangerous high-speed chases.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) will become the first law enforcement agency to outfit cars with a device that propels and sticks a Global Positioning System (GPS) onto a fleeing car.

The department will mount the StarChase LLC device in the grill of some squad cars in the fall. “Officers in the car would control a green lazar light, similar to an aiming device that fixes on your target,” said LAPD Lieutenant Paul Vernon on Friday. “A small dart-like device is propelled from the officer’s car.”

The LAPD is hopeful the GPS device will reduce the number of high-speed car chases through the city. The department conducted more than 600 vehicle pursuits in 2005, up from 581 in the prior year, said Vernon.

Rather than engage in a high-speed chase that is dangerous for the public and police, an officer can trigger the GPS tracking device from their car. The officer also will have a remote unit, about the size of a device that unlocks a car, when they’re outside the patrol car.

Source: informationweek