What is "starchase"

StarChase is the trade name of a system developed early in 2006 to track a fleeing vehicle of interest to police. Its components consist of a tag, a small projectile with the end covered in a viscous adhesive which contains a GPS locator and a transmitter, fired by compressed air from a small launcher on the front grille of a police car. The system was developed to reduce the need for, and the inherent danger of, high speed pursuits, many of which are precipitated by traffic violations where the motorist is later found to have outstanding business with the court system.

Upon deployment to a target vehicle, the tag begins broadcasting its position to the dispatch center. Catching the vehicle, even without air support, now becomes a matter of strategic interdiction, rather than mere pursuit and interception.

The StarChase system, as of summer 2013 was in use by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, Austin Police Department, and numerous other agencies all over the world.