UPDATE/CORRECTION: Orange County has one of these, too.
Whether you’re in the market for a vintage Eames chair or a crate of black-market Chinese pharmaceuticals, Craigslist’s got you covered. The only problem is the often-uncomfortable exchange between buyer and seller, which typically takes place at the seller’s home. No matter how normal and nice the seller seems, there’s always a chance your head’s going to end up in a jar in the refrigerator.
UNTIL NOW. Or, sort of, at least, in Apex, North Carolina. As of today, the Apex Police Department has established a designated spot in its parking lot where citizens can exchange purchases made over the Internet. From the APD:
“With the increase in people buying and selling items online and through social media we wanted to make a location people could feel safe making the exchange. We understand people feel hesitant to give someone their home or work address or meet them in a random parking lot and wanted to provide a location that was public, monitored and accessible.”
Video monitors are steps away in the department’s communications center, where staff is on duty 24/7, with “officers coming in and out of the building all day and evening long.”
Though this idea does not appear to have originated in Apex—a handful of cities, including Bellingham and Dallas, have already done it—it’s the first such location in the Triangle that we’re aware of. Obviously, every other police department in the area should follow suit. It’s rare that good ideas are this easy to implement.
No word on whether people will use this safe space for, um, casual encounters. (Which would, come to think of it, make for some fun video watching for the boys of the APD.)
