Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office to get GPS trackers to help deescalate chases
Nov 07, 2024
FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) -- The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office will soon be getting new technology that could potentially cut down or help de-escalate chases.
The FCSO plans to get GPS trackers through the company StarChase.
“It will hopefully cut down on any wrecks or any damage to real property when utilizing,” Chief Deputy Henry Gray said.
It will cost nearly $90,000 for the FCSO to get the GPS trackers. It’s for a one-year pilot program.
On Thursday, Forsyth County commissioners unanimously approved the money from this year’s budget to sign the contract with StarChase.
“We appreciate the confidence that the commissioners have in this,” Gray said.
The tracker will be mounted to a deputy’s car. It will be launched towards a suspect or fleeing car. It can go as far as 22 feet and will stick to the targeted car.
Although it was approved, commissioners still had questions. The big one is how will a deputy determine when a situation may require the tracker.
“Exigent circumstances or stolen or if it's involved in something like a shooting and anything like that," Gray said.
When answering commissioners’ questions, Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough said the goal would be to launch the tracker before an actual chase occurred.
“We're working on the procedure on it, talking to the command staff to make sure that we're following all the rules, and it mirrors the policy and procedure at the talking with attorneys,” Gray said.
The goal is to prevent chases and crashes and save lives.
“No pursuit is worth a life ... Anything that we can do as a tool in our kit, we want to try it,” Gray said.
The FCSO plans to have the tracks on 10 cars. Two will be available for the J.I.T.T. team, which focuses on addressing juvenile crime.
“They're more likely to encounter because they receive intelligence from the gangs to schools to different neighborhoods ... They're more likely to be involved in a pursuit than someone else," Gray said.
They are working to establish a procedure that ensures the use of the device complies with the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures.