The GPS trackers are from StarChase. It’s a Virginia-based company that provides the technology to hundreds of other law enforcement agencies across the country.
The technology works by using compressed-air launchers that can be mounted on a police car. Officers can then fire a GPS tag at a fleeing vehicle. Once tagged, officers can track the car and arrest suspects, without the need for a dangerous, high-speed pursuit.
However, according to an article in Oaklandside, the Oakland Police Department is quitting its contract with StarChase. OPD said the devices have rarely been used since the program was rolled out in 2019. When officers tried sticking the tags to suspects’ cars, the trackers failed to attach. But it's unclear whether StarChase or OPD is to blame for the trackers’ failures.
OPD made the announcement after a meeting with the City of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission, which counsels the city on surveillance technologies.
The department does have a policy in place that states, after tagging a suspect's vehicle, an officer must prepare an affidavit and search warrant explaining probable cause for use of the tag. The search warrant and affidavit then go to a judge for authorization.
The City of Oakland spent more $150,000 on its initial contract, plus an additional $30,000 per year in ongoing support costs. That’s according to a report from OPD in 2019.
OPD said it will continue its current chase policy, which calls for a pursuit only if there is reasonable suspicion that the suspect committed a “violent forcible crime” or a crime with a gun. Or, if there is probable cause that the person has a firearm.