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SANDY – Police Capt. Justin Chapman often looks for deals on the Internet.
"I've made purchases and I've also sold things through sites like KSL.com," Chapman said.
He admits, as a law enforcement officer, he can be more suspicious of others.
"There's always that uneasiness of, who is that person? Is everything legit?'" Chapman said.
So on Sept. 16, when he bought an iPhone, he asked the seller to meet him in front of the police department, at the city's new, E-Commerce Exchange Zone.
Two blue signs mark the area, south of the department's front doors.
Surveillance video shows the seller's vehicle pulling up to the building. It's raining and Chapman gets inside to make the purchase.
"He even mentioned to me, I always feel uncomfortable doing these kind of things because I don't know who I'm going to meet, I don't know where the best place is to stop and to make a transaction like that," Chapman said.
That's why City Councilman Steve Fairbanks pursued the idea of implementing an exchange zone.
"I found this story about someone who had purchased an item on Craigslist and when they went to meet and fulfill the transaction, they ended up being beaten and robbed," Fairbanks said.
Fairbanks said his son, who lives in Texas, told him about a similar service at his local police department.
"It's really simple and relatively cost free to the city," he said. "Our expenses are the e-commerce signs, which aren't very expensive."
The area is well-lit. It is not monitored, but a camera on the south side of the building provides a birds-eye view.
City officials say the footage will be available for an extended period of time.
"This has all the characteristics you would want for a safe exchange zone," said Nicole Martin, communications director for Sandy City. "If someone that you're dealing with does not want to meet you in this zone, I think you ought to reconsider perhaps making an exchange with them at all."
This has all the characteristics you would want for a safe exchange zone. If someone that you're dealing with does not want to meet you in this zone, I think you ought to reconsider perhaps making an exchange with them at all.
–Nicole Martin, Sandy City communications director
The zone's main purpose is for e-commerce exchange, but officials say people can also go there to do child custody exchanges.
"If there's a criminal offense occurring, we'll get involved. If there's a civil dispute, we won't, but we'll have it recorded if that's helpful in a civil transaction," Fairbanks said.
Sandy City is one of the first in Utah to implement the service.
Spanish Fork and Orem police departments also recently created their own safety zones.
"We actually added to our outside surveillance to incorporate the spots," said Orem Police Sgt. Craig Martinez.
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