SANTA ANA, Calif.—Orange County residents will soon have “safe zones” where they can meet in person to complete online sales in a surveilled area.
The “safe zones” program, introduced by Supervisor Don Wagner, was approved by the County Board of Supervisors on March 8.
The program will dedicate portions of the parking lots at Orange County Sheriff’s Department substations to the zones where people can meet from online websites, such as Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, to safely exchange goods.
Sites will be well-lit and under 24-hour surveillance cameras to help reduce the chance of robbery or other dangers during the exchange.
Nearby police presence is also thought to deter bad actors, though zones will not actually have any physical deputies overseeing the transactions.
“We are seeing an increase in e-commerce sales and an increase in violence or theft when the parties meet up to complete the transaction. We want to bring more peace of mind for any potentially troubling in-person interactions,” Wagner said during a March 8 board meeting.
Supervisors also touted using the zones for potentially contentious child custody exchanges, where separated parents can safely hand off their children to minimize the concern of domestic violence.
It was unclear how many locations will be set up and how much it will cost. But Wagner said the cost would be “diminutive,” or small.
Other police departments have launched similar exchange zones, including Irvine and Buena Park.
