https://jalopnik.com/starchase-guardian-hx-nypd-vehicle-gps-tracker-police-1850327888 * The A.V. Club * Deadspin * Gizmodo * Jalopnik * Jezebel * Kotaku * Quartz * The Root * The Takeout * * The Onion * * The Inventory Send us a tip!ShopSubscribe HomeLatestReviewsUnpavedBuyingTechCultureTrucksWrenchingRacingBeyond Cars We may earn a commission from links on this page. HomeLatestReviewsUnpavedBuyingTechCultureTrucksWrenchingRacingBeyond Cars Tech The NYPD Can Now Shoot GPS Trackers at Your Car The StarChase Guardian-HX uses the lower receiver from an AR-15 rifle and launches adhesive-tipped GPS trackers to allow cops to track a vehicle remotely. By Steve DaSilva PublishedThursday 10:00AM Comments (117) Alerts We may earn a commission from links on this page. Image for article titled The NYPD Can Now Shoot GPS Trackers at Your Car Photo: Barry Williams for NY Daily News (Getty Images) Yesterday, the New York Police Department debuted its latest set of high-tech policing equipment. We New York denizens will soon come face to face with robot dogs, daleks, and something new: A pneumatic gun that can fire a sticky GPS tracker at a moving vehicle. Watch The Most Frustrating Features In Cars CC Share Subtitles * Off * English Share this Video FacebookTwitterEmail RedditLink view video The Most Frustrating Features In Cars Forget Autonomy, Drivers Still Want Control June 28, 2022 Apple Is Still Trying to Make Your Phone Into Your Car Key February 28, 2023 In case you missed it: * Here Are the Cars That Left You Feeling Like the Automaker Was Close to Making Something Great * The 2024 Acura Integra Type S Is Here in All its Glory * Teacher Allegedly Rents Toyota Supra on Turo to Compete in Land Speed Record Competition Advertisement The launcher is called the Guardian-HX, made by a company called StarChase. It's meant to create an alternative to the standard police pursuit, allowing cops to remotely track a fleeing vehicle without sending a squad of interceptors to tail it. But, in the hands of a department known for its surveillance abuses, the presence of any new tracking tech is worrying. Two StarChase GPS tag attachment system GPS trackers are pictured during a press conference in Times Square announcing new high tech policing technology April, 11, 2023 in Manhattan, New York. The StarChase GPS tag attachment system launches a GPS tracker that is fired from a gun or from a police vehicle and sticks to a vehicle. Police then track the vehicle via the tracker eliminating the need for a dangerous chase. Two StarChase GPS tag attachment system GPS trackers are pictured during a press conference in Times Square announcing new high tech policing technology April, 11, 2023 in Manhattan, New York. The StarChase GPS tag attachment system launches a GPS tracker that is fired from a gun or from a police vehicle and sticks to a vehicle. Police then track the vehicle via the tracker eliminating the need for a dangerous chase. Photo: Barry Williams for NY Daily News (Getty Images) Promescent Pleasure Pack 15% off Promescent Pleasure Pack Spice things up in the bedroom he Promescent Pleasure Pack is a fantasic deal that offers a little something for both you and your partner. It comes with both Promescent Delay Spray and Female Arousal Gel, both products designed to help partners last longer and get the most out of their time getting intimate together. Save 15% off from now until April 30. Buy for $34 at Promescent Advertisement Advertisement The Guardian-HX launcher is based on, of all things, an AR-15 rifle. The Guardian's lower receiver -- the part of the gun that holds the stock, pistol grip, trigger assembly, safety switch, and "magazine" -- is interchangeable with any other AR-style rifle. (Amusingly, since the AR's lower receiver is the part that contains its serial number, these may legally count as AR-15s.) Those accessories, too, are cross-compatible, save for two: The internal trigger assembly and magazine. That's because, in the Guardian, the trigger isn't a trigger, and the magazine isn't a magazine. The trigger itself is more of a button, an electronic system that activates the release of pressurized gas to propel the GPS projectile. The magazine is actually a battery. GUARDIAN HX - Handheld GPS Launcher All that tech makes for a single-shot launcher capable of firing one adhesive-tipped GPS tracker before needing its barrel reloaded. That projectile travels at a claimed 37 miles per hour, and has a straight-forward range of 35 feet -- though the company claims that, with an arc, it can theoretically reach 60 feet. Advertisement Once the GPS tag is adhered to a vehicle, it pings StarChase with its location every two to five seconds. StarChase calls the Guardian a "less-lethal" tool -- making one wonder what would be lethal to a motor vehicle, since the Guardian isn't designed to be used on people. According to the New York Times, the NYPD has invested $19,500 on the Guardian-HX venture. Jalopnik reached out to StarChase to ask exactly what the NYPD gets for that money, and whether the company will charge the police department any additional fees beyond the initial price (for example, to provide tracking data), but StarChase did not respond by press time. Advertisement The NYPD has a long history of abusing surveillance technology, and Mayor Eric Adams has now ensured the department has even more high-tech surveillance equipment at its disposal. Surely, only good things will come from this.