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Iowa State Patrol testing 'GPS cannons'
Fox News ^
| November 21, 2013
| Dan Springer
Posted on 11/22/2013 1:09:12 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: Neidermeyer
maybe stick it on another car. I can't wait for the first time one gets tracked down and it turns up on another cop car.
21
posted on
11/22/2013 5:55:43 AM PST
by
nascarnation
(Wish everyone see a "Gay Kwanzaa")
To: 2ndDivisionVet
Anyone notice how little steel is on new cars? With new CAFE standards there is going to be even less.
22
posted on
11/22/2013 6:16:16 AM PST
by
Clay Moore
("In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte)
To: 2ndDivisionVet
Pass a law that all auto drivers MUST HAVE a person on foot walking in front of them with a RED FLAG!
That should take care of the problem.
OPPS! It’s already been done, years ago!
23
posted on
11/22/2013 6:36:20 AM PST
by
Ruy Dias de Bivar
(Sometimes you need 7+ more ammo. LOTS MORE.)
To: refermech
As I understand it, you have to get within 20 to 25 feet. That is very close. A full size pickup is about 20 ft bumper to bumper. If they list that as the effective range, you can bet it probably works better from much closer, more like 10 to 15 ft.
That is real close for high speed driving. At that point you are already taking so many risks you might as well just close in and spin the guy out. I know LEO has some fancy name for it, PIT turn or something like that. LEO don't need some $5000 per car piece of gear. They just need to go to their local dirt track and spend an afternoon with some of the drivers. Guaranteed at any medium sized track there are guys that can show them how to spin someone out in a corner - the really good ones can make it look like an accident to race officials and avoid being black flagged. ;-)
There are so many points of failure here though.
- A 5K per car initial cost.
- Maintenance, training, practicing.
- During a chase you've got to get a cannon equipped car in the lead of the pursuit. Unless you're planning on equipping all the vehicles at 5K a pop.
- Then the insanely close approach which is going to spur the criminal to drive even faster, thinking he's not losing you.
- You've got to be within 20 feet and pointed directly at the vehicle briefly. Which means potentially maintaining that closeness for a while.
- If you miss, what is the danger to bystanders from the GPS shot careening down the street? Probably minimal since it doesn't sound like it has much behind it. But still that is non-zero risk.
- You miss. Is it an auto-loader or do you have to stop and manually reload? Thus meaning another pursuit car has to take lead?
- The perp hears a thump and immediately brakes hard and saws the wheel back and forth a bit, wiggling the rear end of the car he's driving. Thus using your pushbar to smash and scrape off the GPS device...
- Perp flees out of sight, knows he's being tracked. Stops first car he sees moving in a lot. Shoots driver to prevent description of car from getting to police and jacks that car.
- Savvy criminals start carrying GPS jammers in their getaway vehicles.
- Savvy cheap criminals make a broadband spark-gap transmitter for $5 in parts and blank out the transmission of the data from the device.
Now I'm an engineer tech guy at heart, by training, and profession. So don't get me wrong, I love stuff like this. When everything works right this will be a pretty slick system. It looks to me like there are lots of ways for it to not work right though. I'd be surprised if this works in as much as 50% of their pursuits. Maybe that's enough to justify the costs & risks associated with it. Be interesting to see how it has worked after a year or so. Reliability of the system, ability of drivers to get into position, etc.
24
posted on
11/22/2013 6:38:59 AM PST
by
ThunderSleeps
(Stop obarma now! Stop the hussein - insane agenda!)
To: Gaffer
This is not a new idea.
I saw a news report, about 25 years ago, where cops cut a hole in the floor of their cop car, and set off a homemade rocket propelled devise designed to “short out” the electronics of the speeding car ahead. You had to get close, but it worked.
25
posted on
11/22/2013 6:39:30 AM PST
by
Ruy Dias de Bivar
(Sometimes you need 7+ more ammo. LOTS MORE.)
To: 2ndDivisionVet
26
posted on
11/22/2013 6:45:13 AM PST
by
BlueMondaySkipper
(Involuntarily subsidizing the parasite class since 1981)
To: ThunderSleeps
Our reliance on high tech gadgets is not a good thing.
To: 2ndDivisionVet
Why not simply attach some wires and tase the whole vehicle with 2 meeellion volts! MOOOOOWAAAHAHAAAAAAA.
28
posted on
11/22/2013 8:29:58 AM PST
by
SgtHooper
(If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.)
To: 2ndDivisionVet
Whatever happened to that little ROV to be launched from the pursuit car, equipped with an EMP device to fry the electronics of the fleeing felon’s vehicle?
Maybe they should mount paintball cannons on patrol cars instead, to mark the vehicles for pickup down the road.
29
posted on
11/22/2013 9:18:31 AM PST
by
JimRed
(Excise the cancer before it kills us; feed & water the Tree of Liberty! TERM LIMITS NOW & FOREVER!)
To: nascarnation
You can buy GPS trackers on eBay cheap ... I may just do what you suggest ... maybe the Mayors car!
30
posted on
11/22/2013 10:51:27 AM PST
by
Neidermeyer
(I used to be disgusted , now I try to be amused.)
To: Neidermeyer
Wow you’re right
20 bucks, LOL
31
posted on
11/22/2013 10:53:27 AM PST
by
nascarnation
(Wish everyone see a "Gay Kwanzaa")
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