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Police Chases

Happy GuyHappy Guy Member Posts: 677 ✭✭✭✭
edited September 2006 in General Discussion
there was a gnarly police chase that ended basically in front of my house tonight. the pursued car hit another car head on and both drivers were killed. many people at the scene said we should end police chases entirely and some said we should be more agressive. i personally believe the solution to police chases will be through technology that can disable cars in some way. i dont like to see innocent people die in police chases only to have the driver receive 5 years in jail.
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Comments

  • PieceofpaperPieceofpaper Member Posts: 1,496 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Manufacturers should install a device in all cars so the police can disable the car during a chase, traffic stop, etc.
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  • CA sucksCA sucks Member Posts: 4,310
    edited November -1
    YEA! Great Idea, lets do that on guns too!

    Ummm no. I don't like to see innocent people get killed, but I don't think that is the answer.

    Besides, its not like a criminal with half a brain(but obviously short of a whole one as they are a criminal) would be able to get around it.

    I'll bet theyd be as easy to bypass as govenors on cars that limit their speeds to 110 or such. Oh... the engine has a device that shuts it down when 110 is exceeded, it is routinely bypassed by small time criminals with no intent to hurt anyone, you think any other way to shut down a car wont be bypassable, what about all the old cars, will people be forced to buy new ones, or refit their cars?

    I assume it will be remotely operated, can you imagine what happens when someone reverse engineers whats in their car, or if a police officer looses one (heck they loose their guns all the time, then we get the news storys C&P'd here). Now imagine a criminal who can sit by the side of a lonely road, you get near, and suddenly your engine dies.
    UH-oh, you don't have your CCW, you just got mugged/robbed/raped/murdered/car-jacked.

    Driving isnt a contitutional right, but I wonder if the constitution were to be written today(since they didnt exist in that time, and they are easily availible now) if it would be a right.

    I think it would be alot easier if they just took the plate number down, get their information, and show up in the middle of the night and arrest the guys.

    I'm all for saving innocents, but I would rather not be placed at risk and the mercy of other individuals when other solutions will work just as well.
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  • Happy GuyHappy Guy Member Posts: 677 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Pieceofpaper
    Manufacturers should install a device in all cars so the police can disable the car during a chase, traffic stop, etc.


    i agree
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  • MrOrangeMrOrange Member Posts: 3,012
    edited November -1
    Years ago I saw on TV (so it must be true) a gizzie the g-men had that looked like a hand-held radar unit, that when "shot" at a moving vehicle killed the electronic ignition, leaving the pursued to coast to stop.

    Personally, I'd prefer the cops use this to end pursuits:
    http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/joesat/?action=view&current=highlight1.flv

    Courtesy of Dillon Aero.
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  • NighthawkNighthawk Member Posts: 12,022 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Police Pursuits have been a controversial issue for sometime. There are very few other options as of now we have spikes to slowly deflate the suspects tires, as well as another method not as safe that shorts the electrical system of the car out which stalls the engine. This can be dangerous because the car no longer has power brakes or steering. Personaly I feel its a must because if it werent everyone would run rather than stop for LEO's. Getting tag numbers dont get convictions of the perp driving who robbed the Shell Station or the drugs he has in the car to sale our children on the street. Nor does it get drunk drivers off the road which kill many more innocent victims than do police chases. Its a very sad situation for the innocent people who are harmed in these situations, but as of now its the best method we have.
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  • bondaibondai Member Posts: 1,239 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Pieceofpaper
    Manufacturers should install a device in all cars so the police can disable the car during a chase, traffic stop, etc.


    Oh yea...great idea. Give the cops more power over us then they already have...the already have checkpoints..."Your papers please"
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  • n/an/a Member Posts: 168,427 ✭
    edited November -1
    If police could shut down a car electronically how would they be able to pick one car? The program would have to be designed for one car and one car only, they have that technology but for the millions of cars on the road? What will they have a button for Cadillacs, and one for chevies, and when they push the button do all cadillacs stop?[}:)][}:)]
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  • TrinityScrimshawTrinityScrimshaw Member Posts: 9,350 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    A high speed pursuit is something that scares the hell out of me. I have been involved in several over my career, and they seem to get hairier as time goes by. When I was a younger LEO, I thought "Oh while, a pursuit", and I got all excited. A lot of officer's still do, and their getting all pumped up with adrenalin can lead to drastic results also. While some think "How dare you run from my authority", there are others who think "Oh no, here we go again." If you don't chase after or follow the vehicle you don't know why they are running. You don't want a felon to get lose, but you also don't want them driving so recklessly that they end up injuring an innocent bystander. It is a catch 22 that a lot of departments are wrangling with. What is the liability of the department if they do chase, and something bad happens? What if the perpetrator is allowed to escape and they end up harming another person later? What if during the chase an officer or another person get hurts? They are all valid questions an officer must be quick to answer. Is the risk worth it? No one wants things to lead to the point that (knowing an officer can not, or will not chase them) anyone not wanting to be stopped will just speed off. And, personally I don't think a contraption that turns off the electronics to a vehicle is the answer ether. Turning off a speeding vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed can also lead to drastic results. Society is changing, and how Law Enforcement handles vehicle pursuits will also change as things evolve.

    Trinity +++
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  • peonpeon Member Posts: 2,644 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Saw a show on police technology that said there are numerous devices being researched to shut down a car. One was to zap it with microwaves which would "fry" all of the electronic components of the car.
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  • Happy GuyHappy Guy Member Posts: 677 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by bondai
    quote:Originally posted by Pieceofpaper
    Manufacturers should install a device in all cars so the police can disable the car during a chase, traffic stop, etc.


    Oh yea...great idea. Give the cops more power over us then they already have...the already have checkpoints..."Your papers please"


    lets take away their guns and handcuffs then
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  • CubsloverCubslover Member Posts: 18,601 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    There is a company working on a product that they plan on installing in new cars. The officer can radio in the plate # and from that they can find the VIN #, they can send a signal via remote to disable the vehicle until the pursuit is over. I read about it in Popular Mechanice.

    They can even radio in when they stop a car, to disable it until the ticket or search has been taken care of.

    It will take some time before there are enough vehicles with the "chip" to be worthwhile. They could also give people a tax refund if we had it installed in our vehicles that we already own. The officer can radio in and ask if the vehicle he is pursuing has the "chip" installed.
    Half of the lives they tell about me aren't true.
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  • Rack OpsRack Ops Member Posts: 18,596 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by cubslovers
    There is a company working on a product that they plan on installing in new cars. The officer can radio in the plate # and from that they can find the VIN #, they can send a signal via remote to disable the vehicle until the pursuit is over. I read about it in Popular Mechanice.


    Kinda like On-Star?

    Doesn't sound too hard to defeat though. Just destroy the reciever
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  • CubsloverCubslover Member Posts: 18,601 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yeah, you can turn it off and on.

    I hope something like that wouldn't be abused, however. You know, for jokes.
    Half of the lives they tell about me aren't true.
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  • agman1999agman1999 Member Posts: 981 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The last I heard, OnStar claimed that their system could not disable a vehicle. Considering all of the functions they can access, I find that impossible to believe. I won't be buying a vehicle with OnStar, unless I can figure out how to disable it.
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  • CubsloverCubslover Member Posts: 18,601 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I wasn't saying that OnStar could disable a vehicle, but they could easily start producing cars with that feature.
    Half of the lives they tell about me aren't true.
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  • n/an/a Member Posts: 168,427 ✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Pieceofpaper
    Manufacturers should install a device in all cars so the police can disable the car during a chase, traffic stop, etc.


    Bad idea.
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  • TrinityScrimshawTrinityScrimshaw Member Posts: 9,350 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Just imagine what would happen to a vehicle traveling at over 90+ MPH that just happens to lose all power? The power steering would be gone, and most average drivers wouldn't be able to handle a vehicle that would travel on the momentum of centrifugal force alone. It would be like tossing a two ton rock down the street like a pair of dice and hoping for cat eyes.[V]

    Trinity +++
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  • spanielsellsspanielsells Member Posts: 12,498
    edited November -1
    1. One of these devices giving the police to stop a car is a BAD idea on so many levels. Just how long do you think it would take for one of these little babies to hit the black market? A month? It'll wind up on eBarf and some rapist is going to use it and have the time of his life. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. Don't believe me? How many of those strobe light things are on the black market right now that allow you to change the traffic light from red to green? There's a few floating around Denver all by itself, and that's just one medium-sized city.

    2. Police chases should not stop. What kind of signal will this send to criminals? Just step on the gas and you're home free! Police have radios, they have spike strips, helicopters, etc. They have enough tools to do the job right.

    3. If you're up for banning police chases, why not just ban guns while you're at it? Yes, some police chases end horribly and innocent people get killed. And, sometimes idiots with guns create situations that end horribly and innocent people get killed.

    This is not a perfect world. We do not live in some Utopian society. There are bad people and bad people will do bad things that will endanger the lives of good people. There is far too much nannyism as it is in this "free" nation. I can't imagine why you'd want to make it even worse.
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  • sig232sig232 Member Posts: 8,018
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by spanielsells
    1. One of these devices giving the police to stop a car is a BAD idea on so many levels. Just how long do you think it would take for one of these little babies to hit the black market? A month? It'll wind up on eBarf and some rapist is going to use it and have the time of his life. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. Don't believe me? How many of those strobe light things are on the black market right now that allow you to change the traffic light from red to green? There's a few floating around Denver all by itself, and that's just one medium-sized city.

    2. Police chases should not stop. What kind of signal will this send to criminals? Just step on the gas and you're home free! Police have radios, they have spike strips, helicopters, etc. They have enough tools to do the job right.

    3. If you're up for banning police chases, why not just ban guns while you're at it? Yes, some police chases end horribly and innocent people get killed. And, sometimes idiots with guns create situations that end horribly and innocent people get killed.

    This is not a perfect world. We do not live in some Utopian society. There are bad people and bad people will do bad things that will endanger the lives of good people. There is far too much nannyism as it is in this "free" nation. I can't imagine why you'd want to make it even worse.



    I was thinking the same thing. If a car can be disabled by police it would be a very short time before crooks learned how to do the same to your auto and they could steal the car, rob you or rape your wife.

    Besides, I love watching all the car chases on TV.[:D][:D]

    Not giving chase would allow the folks who are in a stolen auto to get away scott free and the car thiefts would be off and running. The reason they run today is because the police can't shoot them for running anymore. When I was a kid and you ran from the police they were within their rights to bring you down any way they wanted. Everyone knew that and stopped immediately. Very few car chases in the 1950's and 60's , unless you were hauling booze. Police would drill you in a New York minute if you were a booze hauler and they knew it.
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  • bondaibondai Member Posts: 1,239 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Happy Guy
    quote:Originally posted by bondai
    quote:Originally posted by Pieceofpaper
    Manufacturers should install a device in all cars so the police can disable the car during a chase, traffic stop, etc.


    Oh yea...great idea. Give the cops more power over us then they already have...the already have checkpoints..."Your papers please"


    lets take away their guns and handcuffs then


    They can keep their guns...just give them one bullet....[:D]
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  • HavegunJoeHavegunJoe Member Posts: 1,575 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I think that anyone that flees from police in a motorized vehicle should be automatically charged with, and convicted of attempted murder along with whatever else they committed. They have a total disreguard for innocent people's lives by their actions. So to avoid that traffic ticket you risk attempted murder charges. That should get a few of these idiots off the streets for a long time. You should not receive a get out of jail free card because you manage to get your vehicle up over a certain speed.
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