York County, Neb. — New technology is going to make it easier for the York County Sheriff’s Department (YCSD) to limit liability and risk to deputies as well as the traveling public when it comes to high-speed pursuits.
The Department has purchased $40,000 worth of new technology, all paid for with drug-related seizure money, to install state-of-the-art devices.
YCSD is the first law enforcement agency in Nebraska to use a device called ‘StarChase’ which they implemented at the beginning of May.
Courtesy/York County Sheriff’s Department — Sgt. Taylor Samek holds tracking device.
Courtesy/York County Sheriff’s Department — Tracking device attaches itself to vehicle.
Sgt. Taylor Samek explained how ‘StarChase’ technology has resulted in a “launcher” being installed on the front of the cruisers.
Instead of high-speed chases, which endanger deputies and the public and property, the Sheriff’s department now has the ability to approach fleeing vehicles, get within a distance of 25 feet and launch a tracking device which sticks to the back of the perpetrator’s vehicle.
Samek says, once the tracking device is attached, deputies back off, minimizing danger. He says, the software tells law enforcement exactly where the vehicle is at all times, including where it eventually stops, so officers can take the person into custody. That can happen locally or in other parts of the state as the information is shared with multiple agencies.
The York County Sheriff’s Department has the device installed on three cruisers and they hope to have it on all its vehicles in the fall.
