CREWE, Va. -- When a driver chooses to evade police, officers are tasked with the tough decision of whether or not to give chase, as data has shown pursuits oftentimes end in crashes, injuries, and even death.
As many law enforcement agencies have adopted policies that aim to reduce the necessity for high-speed chases, one police department in a small Central Virginia town is taking it a step further by implementing new pursuit de-escalation technology.
The Crewe Police Department will equip the front of four patrol vehicles with vehicle-mounted GPS launch systems from the Virginia Beach-based company StarChase.
With the click of a button, officers can shoot the tracker from their car to the back of a fleeing suspect's car. Officers can then follow the suspect's movements without having to engage in a chase.
“It’s very sticky. It’s also magnetic," Crewe Police Chief James Morgan said about the GPS darts. “As soon as it hits the car, it's activated and utilizes cell data to transmit a GPS signal, where the officers can then disengage from the pursuit, fall back, take things a little bit slower, and monitor them on either a laptop or a GPS.”
Morgan said while pursuits are hard to predict, the Town of Crewe can see a pursuit anywhere from once every two months to once every six months.
He said the goal of taking advantage of this technology is to cut back on the number of pursuits in the community.
Morgan said pursuits are one of the most dangerous activities that officers engage in and pose safety risks to the public, officers, and suspects.
“Several thousand pounds of metal moving down the road is a dangerous situation for everybody," Morgan said. "I believe [the GPS trackers] are going to save millions in property damage, going to reduce injury to officers, suspects, and the public, and they're going to end up saving lives."
Morgan added the technology will give officers the opportunity to "slow down" in the heat of the moment.
“A lot of times, I believe the pursuit becomes more about winning the chase than it does sometimes about why you're chasing," Morgan said. "I think something like this gives everybody a chance to slow down and think and make some better decisions."
He continued, "You can throw the spike strips out, you can do pit maneuvers-- All are extremely dangerous activities."
So far this year, CBS 6 has covered at least three police pursuit crashes in which an innocent civilian lost their life.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 455 people across the country died in 2020 as a result of fatal pursuit crashes, a 46% increase since 2015.
In a new study released by the USDOJ in September, researchers recommended law enforcement agencies nationwide adopt restrictive policies in an effort to reduce high-speed chases.
The federal agency suggests officers only pursue when the suspect's initial offense was a violent crime or when the failure to immediately apprehend the suspect poses an imminent threat to the public.
"You can get a suspect another day, but you can’t get a life back. We believe policy, training, and supervision should all support the core value of policing: the sanctity of human life," said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, which helped carry out the study.
Data collected in a CBS 6 investigation showed that since 2018, the number of annual chases either decreased or stayed the same for most Richmond-metro law enforcement agencies, except in Chesterfield.
Chesterfield Police saw a 197% increase in pursuits over the previous five years.
While the Crewe Police Department already has a restrictive pursuit policy, meaning there are clearly defined and specific criteria governing when officers shall or shall not participate in a pursuit, Morgan said the GPS launcher systems will help fill the gaps of what can be considered gray areas when it comes to deciding whether to pursue.
He said he's currently re-evaluating department policy to determine how the new technology can be written into it.
"If we weren't able to actually chase a car down, we're able to kind of tag the car, de-escalate it, slow down, and then even if we don't get the guy that maybe stole the car, at least we're able to return the property," Morgan said.
CBS 6 reached out to surrounding law enforcement agencies to see if they're using similar pursuit de-escalation technology.
Chesterfield Police did not respond, but Henrico, Richmond, and Hanover said they do not.
HANOVER:
"I have heard of the technology, however, we do not currently have any such equipment. I think as a whole, law enforcement is in favor of technology or techniques that minimize the risk pursuits pose to the community," said Sergeant Steve Wills with the Hanover Sheriff's Office.
RICHMOND:
"The Richmond Police Department does not use that technology. For context, supervisors with RPD monitor all pursuits and are constantly gauging the goal of stopping the individual to the possible danger to the community – terminating pursuits when appropriate. Following a termination, detectives use evidence and information – such as the registered owner’s address or description of the operator – to attempt to identify and apprehend the operator at a later time. There is also other technology in use throughout the city which can often assist in these investigations," said James Mercante with Richmond Police.
HENRICO:
"The Henrico County Police Division does not have technology, nor anything similar to what the Crewe Police Department recently acquired. The Division does have a pursuit policy which designates when a pursuit can be initiated and reasons for termination," said Karina Bolster with Henrico Police.
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