Another high-speed criminal chase ends in an innocent death, and again certain segments of the population of St. Louis uproariously protest police who would try to capture dangerous people who might want to hurt innocent people and who then do actually hurt innocent people.
Fortunately, capitalism provides a liability-free solution: Tag-and track might slow car chases:
Is there a solution to high-speed police chases?
A company in Virginia is proposing one: a sticky dart with a homing device that police can fire at a fleeing car and track electronically at a distance.
Instead of pursuing the getaway car at high speed, police can lay back and set a trap for the fleeing car up the road.
The company believes its product, called StarChase, will save lives and reduce police liability by slowing some hot pursuits and stopping others altogether.
Yeah, liability-free, and the protestors will go home.
Until the police miss the bad guys’ car with the sticky dart and the sticky dart kills/injures/spoils the shirt of some bystander.
At which point the aggrievement machine will once again creak and grind into its public indignation over the dangers of sticky darts, etc.
I think its a good idea, personally. Sometimes you will still need to run down the bad guy, but if you can reduce risk and increase effectivness at the same time… assuming its effective of course…
These devices are being fitted to patrol cars in LA as well. The Times Online discussed it on the 4th. more