Catch of the Day

• NCJ Number: 211749
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 1 page
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Best Practice/State-of-the-Art Review

Annotation

This article describes the Car Catcher, a vehicle-stopping technology.

Abstract

Law enforcement and military agencies have long faced the problem of how to stop a fleeing vehicle. In an effort to apply technology to solve the problem the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD) has directed the development of a giant net designed to stop fleeing vehicles known as the Car Catcher. The Car Catcher works by extending an anchored net across the roadway and activating just as the vehicle approaches. The net captures the vehicle, which in turn triggers the break box to exert enough pressure to slow and stop the vehicle. While the Car Catcher effectively stops vehicles and encloses the vehicle in a net so individuals inside cannot escape, the setup time ranges from 20 minutes to 2 hours depending on the environment, which may be too much time for unexpected high-speed chases. The Car Catcher has promising military uses, such as permanent installment at border crossings and other places likely to experience problems. Contact information is provided.