Tennessee Police Use GPS Dart To Catch Car Thieves

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Belle Meade, Tennessee with its population of about 3,000 doesn’t seem like the kind of place most people would expect a car theft problem to exist, but it does. For that and other reasons, the police department has outfitted each cruiser in the fleet with a GPS dart system. And for the second time, officers have used the technology to successfully catch a suspect.

Watch Florida police use the Grappler Bumper to end a chase immediately.

Most people still don’t know anything about this newer crime fighting tool. Mounted to the front of a police car is a system with a sticky dart or two. The officer can take aim and fire while following behind a suspect, the dart sticking to the suspect’s vehicle and feeding all officers in the department with real time updates of the precise location.

The idea is these GPS darts can be used for low-risk pursuits, allowing officers to back off, hopefully avoid a chase that puts regular citizens in danger, and later corner the suspect. While we don’t expect this technology will put an end to police chases, it could reduce how often they’re needed.