In 1997, a group of I.A.C.P. members, and law enforcement agencies started critiquing the incidents with spikes. A spike system not tethered to a cord was an obvious reason why officers were losing their lives. But could simply adding a cord improve safety?

The Cord-Reel Solution

The “new” manufactures added cords and deployment sleeves to their systems with new marketing strategies. They would have you believe their new modification had a superior and safety advantage, however the serious incidents have never stopped.

The Electronic solution

New technologies, promised to make systems safer but were not practical, bulky and costly. The practicality suffered because often times a patrol car was needed to funnel the target over the spikes, and the officers found themselves tethered to the system in close proximity to traffic, and the reality that they also required the use of protective cover, for safety and traditional systems could provide this for minimal cost, with speed and size benefits.

Deployments, Anytime Anywhere

Law enforcement had started new trends where Spikes were deployed without cover, sometimes systems were from behind the “cover” of a patrol car blocking a lane. Deployment from the window of a patrol car was another method , that was praised, as whatever it takes to stop a pursuit. Anytime Anywhere was the new deployment standard.

When officers are not trained to use protective Cover, the addition of a Cord-Reel or remote control, is not going to provide safety. Deployment when conducted outside of “protective cover” is not safe, and new bad habits are hard to re-train.

Unsecured System (Recovery)

Many of the incidents were in the recovery of the Spikes, despite the deployment sleeve, and the Cord Reel, the systems upgrade was of poor quality. If any component fails, it creates a dangerous scenario, where the officer has to enter into traffic to retrieve the spikes.

Officers entering into the roadway to recover spikes is responsible for deployment officers hit by pursuit officers. The facts are the components were often not used do to product failure, poor service, due to a bad design.

Spike-Strip Mfg. products offers features and benefits based on the original designs which gave rise to the popularity of the tire deflation devices. We do so with an emphasis on training and a new a special product that is engineered not to fail.