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Online transactions safer in 'Exchange Zone'
Three members of the Cleveland County Sheriff's Department stand in the area designated as a safe meeting zone for online transactions, child custody transfers, or any other meeting where those involved feel safer with video surveillance. Two cameras mon

Anyone buying or selling anything online or via newspaper ads these days knows that it can sometimes be tricky to arrange a safe meeting place. It was for exactly this reason that the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office recently established an "Exchange Zone" so that those involved in such sales can meet in an area monitored by video surveillance.
"Sheriff Norman saw this idea at a conference and thought that it was a good idea for our area," says Captain Joel Shores. "He asked me to look into it."
Shores says he quickly found two parking places on the upper deck of the Cleveland County Courthouse that were already covered by two surveillance cameras.
"We had always warned people who were meeting with someone they didn't know to be sure to meet in a public place, but now this gives a new added layer of protection," adds Shores.
Exchange zones such as the one in Cleveland County have become popular throughout the country in the past couple of years. It appears to have started in Boca Raton, FL, in 2014 after a string of robberies took place involving people who were meeting to buy or sell a phone or computer. Most met in public places, but the victims were still robbed, according to Boca Raton Officer Sandra Boonenberg. "We decided we were going to have to come up with something better, and the chief (Daniel C. Alexander) came up with the idea to use the police department for transactions," Boonenberg was quoted as saying in a Washington Post article last year.
Since that time, the idea has spread rapidly through the law enforcement grapevine.
In Cleveland County, as in most areas, officers do not actively monitor transactions. But just knowing that the cameras are rolling can give buyers and sellers a sense of security, Shores says.
"People have been using courthouse parking lots for years for custody swaps between divorced parents," Shores says. "This area can be used for any situation where people are worried or afraid and would be more comfortable with having video surveillance."
So far, reaction to the Cleveland County Exchange Zone has been entirely positive, Shores says. "When we put the announcement up on Facebook we had a lot of 'likes' and supportive comments."
Shores says that no one has needed to use the recorded surveillance videos yet. "But they are there if they are needed," he says.
The Exchange Zone is located on the top deck of the parking lot of the Cleveland County Courthouse, 100 Justice Place, Shelby.

By April Shauf

Special to Shelby Shopper


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