ROCKLAND, Maine — Rockland police Officer William Smith said he has seen many people conduct sales and purchases of items advertised online throughout the city. Some of these people have asked if there was a way they could ensure the transactions would be safe.
As a result, the Rockland Police Department has created two safe zones for individuals to make exchanges of goods and cash. The designations follow a trend that has shown up in other Maine communities where similar exchange areas have been publicized by police departments as a way to ensure the safety of such transactions.
Smith took the lead and contacted the manager of the Rockland Plaza Shopping Center because he knew that was a common area where people have arranged to meet to conduct the transactions advertised online. Plaza manager Peter Kriensky said he was more than agreeable to work with Smith when contacted.
“I thought it was a great idea,” Kriensky said.
He said the parking lot used for J.C. Penney is a community meeting place, is well lighted and has surveillance cameras.
Rockland Deputy Police Chief Christopher Young said that such meetings to conduct transactions negotiated online is becoming a normal way of doing business.
“These transactions are increasing exponentially because of eBay, Craigslist and Uncle Henry’s,” Young said.
He praised Smith for his initiative, which led to the designation of safe exchange zones at both Rockland Plaza and in the parking lot of the police station off Park Drive. He said this was a proactive step, pointing out that there had not been any bad experiences reported by Rockland residents to police.
Young said the action is patterned after safe zones set up in other Maine communities.
The Augusta Police Department established one in March 2015 in the lobby of its station. Brunswick police established its safe zone in May in its station’s parking lot on Pleasant Street.
Augusta Deputy Police Chief Jared Mills said Augusta has a 24-hour dispatch center and so the lobby is always open. The lobby had already been the location for people to exchange children in custody matters.
“We thought with the rise of e-commerce that we could also use the lobby for that purpose,” Mills said.
The department does not keep track of how many purchases are made at the station because it does not want to be a “big brother,” but he said dispatchers see people come in regularly and exchange items.
Brunswick police Cmdr. Mark Waltz said there are two parking spaces established in the station lot for the exchanges and they are observed by surveillance cameras. He said the exchange spaces are used at least once per day.
The website webroot offers tips for online transactions that include meeting during daylight hours in a public place and bring a friend to accompany you. Webroot also advises people to turn down any request to meet at your house, in an unfamiliar place, or by yourself “no matter how big and tough you are.”
According to information posted at safetradestations.com, police departments in the Maine communities of Auburn, Paris, Scarborough and South Portland have created similar safe exchange zones, as have dozens of other police departments throughout the United States.