Technology Developments for Pursuit Management
NIJ funds have been used to develop several pursuit management technologies. These include:
Electromagnetic technologies. Technologies developed in the past few years can be used in devices that send out directed energy to disrupt and stall a vehicle's electrical system. Some of these devices can be permanently attached to a checkpoint or placed across the roadway. Electromagnetic pulses from the device short a vehicle's ignition so officers can make quick, safe arrests.
Tire deflation technologies. In 1995, NIJ teamed up with the Department of Energy's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory to develop a tire-deflator device that would immobilize vehicles moving at high speeds along an open stretch of roadway. This tire-deflator device features remote activation and deactivation capabilities . It can be easily deployed across one or more lanes of a roadway and can be rolled into a loop and stowed in the trunk of a patrol car after use. The device targets multiple suspect vehicles in a pursuit event. These devices are reuseable, and spikes that are lost or damaged may be easily replaced. NIJ helped develop the tire-deflator device called the RoadSpike™.
