The Redmond Police Department implemented new GPS technology last month that has helped result in three arrests.
The technology, called StarChase, uses a high-powered air compressor mounted on a police car to fire a GPS tracker at the fleeing vehicle. The tracker, which is coated in an industrial-strength adhesive, sticks to the car and allows police to follow it until it stops, without the need for a high-speed chase.
Once the fleeing suspect has parked their car, officers then safely drive to that location to question and potentially arrest the suspect.
Redmond Police Chief Darrell Lowe described it as “a tactical tool that allows our officers to make an arrest while keeping our officers, the suspect and community members safe.”
Officers assigned to patrol cars equipped with the trackers spend a full day getting trained on their use. Ongoing training will be provided as the program grows, said Redmond Police spokesperson Jill Green.
The technology is funded by a grant from the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority, which is a state board with representatives appointed by Gov. Jay Inlee from law enforcement and the insurance and auto industries.
The Redmond department is part of a pilot program in Washington state to test the platform, Green said. The department plans to share its findings about how well StarChase works with that panel and law enforcement groups, with an eye to “provide input and recommendations to state legislators and the Governor’s Office.”
The company, StarChase LLC, is based in Virginia. Its website cites an independent case study of data from 36 departments using StarChase technology. The study found that suspects fleeing from police officers typically slow down to speeds close to the speed limit within two minutes after leaving officers behind, reducing the risk of accidents.
The 36 departments using the trackers reported apprehending more than 80% of the suspects whose vehicles they tagged. There were no reports of injuries, fatalities or property damage due to pursuits in those cases.
High-speed chases have been a hot topic nationally, with one study reporting that more than 300 people are killed annually nationwide as a result of such chases, many of which are bystanders. More than 5,000 people were killed between 1979 and 2015 by pursuits, USA Today reported. In a majority of those fatal incidents, police were chasing people suspected of minor offenses such as shoplifting, running a red light or driving with headlights off.
Washington state has one of the nation’s toughest laws governing high-speed police chases. The law, adopted in 2021, requires that officers have probable cause to believe a suspect committed a sexual assault or violent crime, or reasonable suspicion of someone driving while intoxicated, before starting a high-speed pursuit.
Advocates say the new law in its first year reduced the number of people killed in high-speed chases from nine people to three.
But police and sheriff’s departments are asking for the standard to be lowered, from “probable cause” for an officer to believe a crime has been committed, to “reasonable suspicion.”
Officers claim that in many cases, people who commit traffic offenses, for example, are able to simply drive away from officers unable to chase them under the law.
Other departments report sharp increases in car thefts since the law was enacted. The police chief in Marysville, Wash., told KUOW that seven of his patrol cars had been rammed by suspects who drove away from crime scenes.
A bill to lower the standard, written by Rep. Alicia Rule (D-Blaine) and Rep. Eric Robertson (R-Sumner), has been introduced in the House.
It is not likely to get approval in the Senate, however, where Law and Justice Committee Chairwoman Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond), has indicated she doesn’t plan hearings on the bill if it comes out of the House.
