Kane County Sheriff's Office Mobile Technology Ends Pursuits Safely

ST. CHARLES, IL — Like many tools at his law enforcement disposal, Kane County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Paul Warren hopes that a piece of technology that is permanently attached to his patrol car and that is designed to keep suspects from fleeing rarely must be used.

But much like other similar items Warren and his fellow sheriff’s deputies use in their daily work, a mobile spike strip that has been affixed to four Kane County Sheriff’s patrol cars for the past year to assist officers in high-speed suspect chases is there not only to protect officers but anyone else who may be at the road at the time.

The department is hoping to add the technology to six more cars in the coming months, Warren said. Because of department suspect pursuit policies, deputies and patrol officers have only been forced to use the mobile spike strips twice since they were added to department vehicles. But just knowing that the technology is there to keep himself and others safe, Warren said, makes the addition of the strips worth every dime that is spent.

But adding the technology to patrol vehicles is not being done for reasons the general public may expect, Warren said.

“We’re not trying to be the cowboys of the wild, wild west — that’s not the object,” Warren told Patch on Tuesday. “But at the same time, if people are running from us, it’s causing a huge problem for the safety of our citizens who are actually doing what we’re asking them to do while going about their daily lives and they have no idea who is coming down the road.”

Kane County Undersheriff Amy Johnson said Tuesday that the cost of each mobile spike strip runs between $6,000 and $7,000 and that replacement strips cost $150 once they are deployed in a high-speed chase.

Like other police agencies, the Kane County department’s no-pursuit policy only allows deputies and patrol officers to pursue suspects during the commission of a felony or a violent felony, Warren said. Deputies can also pursue drivers who may be having a medical emergency, in which cases, officers may need to slow down a motorist to help them.

However, Warren — who has worked in law enforcement for 28 years — says that suspect chases have increased over the past five years, which he believes is due to the fact that offenders know that most departments have made pushes to not chase suspects. However, police chases within the Kane County Sheriff’s Office have slowed in the past 6-8 months, Warren said, and the department has called off a number of pursuits because they don’t meet the standard for the agency’s no-pursuit policy.

Prior to the addition of the mobile spike strips, Kane County deputies used stinger spike strips, which officers deployed by standing in front of their patrol vehicles and releasing them as a suspect’s vehicle approached.

The mobile spike strips can be released faster, Johnson said, and the strips can be deployed while a deputy is still driving. The addition of the mobile spike strips comes after a Kane County deputy was nearly struck by a suspect’s vehicle after the suspect swerved to hit the deputy while he was deploying the spike strip, Warren said.

The game-changing aspect of mobile technology allows deputies to slow down the speed of a suspect’s vehicle because the strips can be deployed sooner, which keeps everyone around them safer.

“That’s our biggest concern — the public,” Warren said. “We have no control over who runs from us and who doesn’t. But if we can stop it sooner so that everybody is safer, that’s the goal.”

The mobile spike strip technology is the best Warren said he has seen as opposed to other devices that are meant to slow down or stop suspects from fleeing. Other local departments have used a dart system or a netting grappler system that is not meant to be used at high speeds.

With the mobile strips, deputies can deploy the technology on a suspect vehicle that is traveling 100 mph and can safely slow or stop the vehicle, Warren said. Like other emerging technology, the mobile spike strips are not yet 100 percent effective. But, as improvements are made, he feels like the mobile system gives deputies and patrol officers the best chance of taking a fleeing suspect into custody while doing so safely.

With the mobile spike system, deputies are trained to pull up next to a suspect vehicle (preferably next to the back tire) in the passing lane or on the shoulder depending on which side the spike strip is located on their vehicle. The strips are then released with the push of a button. The deputy would then hit the brakes of his vehicle which releases the spike strip, which is designed to at least one —if not more — tire of a suspect’s vehicle.

With the addition of six more mobile units, in the future 10 of 12 patrol vehicles being used during a given shift would include the technology. Most pursuits take place at night, which means that the majority of vehicles being used in late-night and overnight shifts by deputies will be equipped with mobile spike strips.

Although they haven’t been used much since the spike strips were added a year ago, Warren said the biggest advantage of having them in place is safety.

“Obviously, we don’t want people to run from us in the first place,” Warren said. “But I think it’s an important tool to have if they decide to (run) …and I think in the long run, it’s going to help to save lives. The worst outcome for any vehicle pursuit is that some innocent person gets hurt and we just want to try to slow someone so that we can keep everyone safe.”