Buying on Craigslist? Head to the ‘Safe Zone’

If you want to buy something on Craigslist without getting ripped off – or worse – your best bet might be to have a police officer nearby.

That’s the idea behind the Spokane Police Department’s new “Safe Zone” at the North Precinct in Hillyard. Police are offering the precinct parking lot as a meeting place to complete online transactions arranged on Craigslist and similar websites.

“Nationally there’s been a few incidents where those kind of transactions have gone bad, and we’ve seen other departments that provided those spots,” said Officer Teresa Fuller.

Post Falls police have a  similar program in place, where people can meet in the department parking lot. Seattle police  allow people to use their precinct lobbies.

Spokane officers wouldn’t actively supervise transactions between people, Fuller said, but would be nearby in case something goes wrong.

“I have used Craigslist, but I would feel much safer if this was available,” Ashton Coe Preuninger wrote on the Spokesman-Review’s Facebook page about the issue.

Fuller said, “There’s been a few instances in Spokane of people meeting for those types of transactions and someone grabbing the cash and just running with it.”

Proposing a police precinct as a meeting location may also help deter sellers of stolen goods. Fuller recommended suggesting a precinct meeting for any sale that seems “too good to be true.”

“If the guy says he doesn’t want to meet up there, it’s a good sign that something’s amiss,” she said. Suspicious sellers who won’t want to meet at the precinct can even be reported to Crime Check.

Fuller said she’s wanted to set up such a program in Spokane for a while, but the department didn’t have a good location. Public parking around the Public Safety Building and the Downtown Precinct are both limited. When the Hillyard location opened earlier this year, Fuller said it made sense to designate it a “Safe Zone.”

For now, the North Precinct parking lot at the corner of North Market Street and East Diamond Avenue will be available during the week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. People who want to use the parking lot as a meeting place should call (509) 363-8281 to confirm an officer will be there when they plan to meet.