Is there anything in the world more captivating than watching the evening news and seeing some idiot weaving in and out of traffic with a fleet of police cruisers speeding after him?
The answer, in out humble opinion, is no. It's impossible not to watch.
It's dangerous and stupid to run from police, particularly in a car, but the idea that someone would be dumb enough to think they're getting away as helicopters follow their every move is more entertaining than most of the crap on television these days.
Unfortunately for us, the Arizona Department of Public Safety feels differently and is trying to put an end to our fun.
DPS officials have now unveiled their newest method of reducing police chases.
And it might actually put an end to watching a suspect run over some spike strips and go careening into a ditch, only to come out the other side and sideswipe some cars as he (it's always a guy, you know) blasts down the wrong side of the freeway, cops still in hot pursuit.
The StarChase Pursuit Management System is a device installed on the front of a police cruiser that can launch a small projectile onto the back of a fleeing vehicle.
The projectile then sticks to the vehicle and is equipped with a GPS unit that then allows police to fall back, let the suspect drive away and then go find him later.
"We have a problem with high-speed pursuits in Arizona," DPS Commander Larry Scarber tells the Arizona Daily Star.
"One doesn't have to wait too long to see a pursuit on TV. Some of them are comical, . . . but far too frequently they're tragic and horrific."
Well, that's one opinion.
The cost of the device is about $6,000 per vehicle, but DPS officials won't say how many vehicles they will outfit with the new equipment.
In related news, the DPS announced yesterday it will probably be forced to implement a "reduction in force," as a result of budget cuts.
This reduction will more than likely include laying off up to 400 DPS officers.
Announcing layoffs one day and boasting about expensive equipment the next. Who's the PR whiz that planned this one?
