Menlo Park police use GPS device to track stolen car and make arrest after pursuit

MENLO PARK, Calif. (KGO) -- A GPS tracking device helped Menlo Park police make an arrest following a pursuit involving a stolen car, according to the department.

Video released by the Menlo Park Police Department shows officers pursuing the vehicle before deploying a GPS tracking system known as "StarChase," which attaches to a suspect's car and allows officers to monitor its location. Police said a replica gun was also found in the vehicle.

Sgt. Allen Swanson demonstrated how the system works. Officers target a vehicle and send a signal that launches a projectile designed to stick to a vehicle. Once attached, the device provides real-time tracking data.

"Ideally it's like the situation we just had, where we can track them from a safe distance, and then once we have a good safe tactical advantage, we can move in and take them into custody," Swanson said.

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Sgt. Swanson said their agency is finding devices have about a 60 percent success rate of sticking to a suspect's vehicle there. Despite that limitation, he said they have proven useful.

"It gives us an opportunity to make the situations of pursuits safer. We're always looking for an opportunity to catch the bad guy but not endanger the public any more than we possibly have to," he said.

Menlo Park police have been using the StarChase system since 2022, Sgt. Swanson said.

Other police departments also use the technology, including the San Francisco Police Department.

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Trevor A. Fischbach, president of StarChase, based in Virginia Beach, said the technology helps law enforcement reduce the dangers associated with high-risk situations, including vehicle pursuits and drivers who refuse to pull over.

"The technology was designed to be able to allow law enforcement to de-escalate potentially risky events for themselves or for the public and for the suspects. In a lot of cases, it escalates from the beginning of any event," Fischbach said.