Local News

New GPS launcher gadget allows Mass. State Police to tag and track cars. Are there constitutional concerns?

A video from the device’s manufacturer shows how the projectile is used.

Courtesy of StarChase

December 17, 2024

3 minutes to read

Massachusetts State Police is piloting a GPS projectile gadget used to de-escalate high speed pursuits that have the potential to become dangerous.

Once launched onto a suspect’s vehicle, the device maps its location in real-time.

“Law enforcement can then plan and coordinate an informed tactical response to make a safe arrest while maintaining community and officer safety,” according to the device manufacturer, StarChase.

Guided by the location data, troopers can safely follow the vehicle at a distance to “position themselves with tire deflation devices, or attempt to locate the vehicle after it has become stationary or when it has reached a location where it can be safely contained,” Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.

Just last week, state police deployed the tracking device on a vehicle that rammed into a state police cruiser.

The vehicle’s operator fled the scene following the crash, but the GPS system allowed police to locate the vehicle without embarking on a road chase, which could put police and other bystanders in danger, according to police.

Looking ahead

The pilot program in Massachusetts, launched in May 2024, equipped 30 cruisers with the technology and procured two handheld units, according to state police.

There were 60 StarChase deployments through the month of October, with a 73.33% vehicle tagging success rate.

Authorities said the state’s initiative could be expanded in the future.

“As the first State Police Agency in the northeast to pilot this technology, we will continue to study its effectiveness and make informed decisions about expansion,” Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.

See the technology in action in the video below:

Legal implications

While many legal experts see the benefits of using the tool as a public safety measure, some say legal issues could arise depending on the circumstances and how the device is used.

As a civil liberties matter, Jay Stanley, an ACLU senior Policy Analyst, wrote that he does not see “any problem with this technology if used as expected.”

“This has the potential to obviate the need for high-speed pursuits by police cars through cities and towns, which are very dangerous and kill hundreds each year,” Stanley wrote about such GPS tracking systems.

While the tracking devices can be used to address the dangers of high speed chases, Suffolk University Law professor Christina Miller said police departments looking to use them should outline policies to ensure the way in which they are utilized is lawful.

“High speed chases are very dangerous, and can put the public safety in danger in a way that this technology seems to want to avoid,” Miller told Boston.com. “As with anything in policing, we have real humans in very real situations, so the discretion that the state police or any police department will use as to when to use this [device] is going to be very important.”

According to police, StarChase is used “under conditions defined strictly by policy.” Police did not immediately respond to a question about the specific regulations and training in place with regard to using the device.

Probable cause

The Fourth Amendment and Article 14 of Massachusetts’ Declaration of Rights protect individuals in the state from unlawful search and seizure. A search warrant is needed in order to search a person or their property, but there are some exceptions.

The warrant requirement is generally waived for motor vehicles, according to Miller, but police still must have reasonable belief to assume that a crime has been committed.

“There’s an exception to the warrant requirement for motor vehicles because there’s an implied mobility of the motor vehicles,” she said. “But you still need probable cause to believe that the vehicle contains contraband, evidence of a crime, or probable cause that this person has committed a crime in order to conduct the arrest.”

However, as new technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, the law is not always direct, experts say.

In a situation, for instance, where police might want to deploy the device on an individual who committed a civil, rather than criminal, driving infraction, Miller said the law “isn’t necessarily clear.”

Additionally, tracking a car over an extended period of time while not actively pursuing it could require a warrant, lawyers say.

Without a warrant, the defendant could file a motion to suppress the evidence obtained using the device, Boston College Law professor Robert Bloom told Boston.com.

“Putting the tag on a speeding car would seem to me to be justification that there’s not enough time to get a warrant, but if it extends beyond the notion of preventing a chase of a high-speed car, then I’d be a little worried,” Bloom said.