In order to decrease the potential of dangerous or fatal situations during a car chase, police officers in Iowa and Florida will be able to use bullets equipped with GPS systems to track their suspects, CNET reported.
"If you had told me 16 years ago that I would have had a cannon on the front of my car, I wouldn't have believed it," said Iowa State Trooper Tim Sieleman.
The tracking device, called StarChase, has already come in handy to Iowa officers.
Last Wednesday, authorities used the GPS bullets to track a car in western Iowa, allowing them to turn off their lights and end the chase -- free of car crashes, injuries, or death.
"We shut it down, tracked him over into Omaha," Sieleman said. "After they think the officer has disengaged, they back down to normal speeds to blend in with traffic so they don't get noticed again."
You can see the video of a program demonstration here.
However, the program is not offered at a cheap price. According to Sieleman, StarChase costs $5,000 and each bullet is $500.
A report by CBS 12 said only one state trooper vehicle in Iowa has the program built in, though they plan to add it to five more cars. Additionally, they're happy to have to system -- despite the high price tag -- because it lowers the risk of life-threatening incidents.
The StarChase website elaborates on decreasing that risk.
"We all know car chases are dangerous. In fact, there are more than 100,000 high-speed pursuits in the U.S. every year, endangering everyone involved in the chase - the suspects, the police and the public. And it's an unnecessary danger; up to 85 percent of these pursuits are initiated by non-violent offenders. Plus, the economic impact is staggering, with hundreds of millions paid out in the U.S. annually due to insurance payouts, medical bills, workers' compensation and lost wages," the website reads.
