Since the introduction of PROSpike police stingers at the prestigious DSEI exhibition in 2015, the spectrum of violence within our society has changed dramatically. Within PROSpike we are therefore happy to have access to the expertise of our parent company PROCentrum. These specialists continuously monitor international developments in the field of risk and hazard management in order to fine-tune training protocols accordingly. Partly because of this, the PROSpike engineers are able to keep the soft- and hardware of our stingers up-to-date and adapt PROSpike stingers to the demands of the end users.
For the London police, the use of our remote controlled and GPS-equipped PROSpike units opened a new window of opportunity. After all, there are no equivalent police stingers available that can be used as safely and efficiently to end pursuits. With the purchase of PROSpike 1630 units and a targeted deployment during “operation Venice”, the number of robberies has dropped dramatically. The PC’s working within the so-called Scorpion teams are very enthusiastic about the use of PROSpike police stingers as witnessed by the tweets after various successful operations and arrests.
Over the past six months, PROSpike engineers have been specifically working on further improvement of the spike bed. Although the use of the old spikes proved to be successful with almost all vehicles, we still thought there was room for improvement. In particular with regard to motorcycles and trucks, our engineers were of the opinion that adjusting the shape of the spikes would make the spike bed even more effective.
After an extensive process of testing and (re) development, the final practical tests were recently conducted. A special investigation team from the Dutch police, specialized in motorcycle accidents, suppilied us with a specially prepared motorcycle and test equipment in order to record as much data as possible in a safe and responsible manner.
The results even exceeded our wildest expectations. The tires of the passenger car and the motorcycle were penetrated by several spikes, causing them to deflate immediately. Contrary to expectations, the truck tires also proved unable to withstand the new spikes. Immediately after the truck drove over the PROSpike spike bed, the front and rear tires were penetrated by several spikes. Due to the modified construction of the nails, the truck tires defated to the rim within seconds
Because we wanted to know whether it would be possible to cause further damage with the truck under these circumstances, we also investigated how the punctured tires would last when the vehicle would continue driving. The result became clear within seconds. Even at a slow pace, it turned out to be impossible to continue driving with the truck. Within a foreseeable distance the tires ran off the rim, which forced the vehicle to stop.
The newly developed spike bed thus forms an efficient additional barrier in the protection of critical infrastructures, but also in protecting civilians during events.
During DSEI 2019, PROSpike presents the new spike bed as well as the PROSpike QR. You can find more information about our participation in DSEI here. Do you want to know more about the PROSpike police stinger or do you wish a non commiting demonstration at your location? Please contact our office in Best here. Our staff is happy to help you with any questions