North Bay police turns headquarters into safe exchange zone

The 'Safe Exchange Zone' set up by North Bay police will allow individuals who wish to buy and sell items online through sites like Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji to have a safe and secure location to do so. The area is located in the parking lot. Aug.12/21 (Eric Taschner/CTV News Northern Ontario)

NORTH BAY -

The North Bay Police Service has set up a 'Safe Exchange Zone' for online purchases in the parking lot of police headquarters.

The safe exchange zone will allow individuals who wish to buy and sell items online through sites like Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji to have a safe and secure location to do so. The area is located in the parking lot.

"If anything does go wrong, we should be able to catch it on camera," said North Bay Police Insp. Jeff Warner.

Instead of travelling to seller’s residences, buyers can now meet with sellers in an open, public place, that is monitored by security cameras and police personnel on-site. This will help ensure the safety of everyone involved.

"You're dealing with strangers. You don't know who it is or what their intentions are," said Warner. "So this provides a place where they can come and exchange goods."

Warner says a safe exchange zone can also help to prevent potential scammers.

North Bay police have received reports in the past about online scams in which, after the victim pays for an item online, the scammer provides the victim with a false address to retrieve the item.

When the victim attends the address, they realize that the scammer does not reside there and there is no item available for pick-up.

Warner says the police service has taken the idea from other police agencies in southern Ontario and at the same time is upgrading its own security systems at the detachment.