Police Hope New “SwapSpots” Initiative Reduces Crime From Online Meet-ups

Lincoln police are hoping to provide a safe-place for people to meet up for online transactions. Dubbed “SwapSpot” locations, police are planning to put the first such spot at their station at 1501 N. 27th St. Officer Andrew Gallagher, who modeled the idea after the popular “SafeTrade” website, says the main goal for the program is safety.

SafeSpots will be well-lit, camera monitored locations  created for people to perform online transactions at any time of the day. Police hope providing such locations will improve public safety when meeting strangers for trades, like one would for a typical Craig’s list transaction. Officer Gallagher says police respond to crimes related to online “meet-up” transactions happen all too often.

Officer Gallagher adds there a few rules to using the SwapSpots. Here’s a full list:

Rules of SafeTrade at LPD:

1. The Swap Spot service is available at the LPD Center Team station located at 1501 N. 27th Street (NW corner of 27th and Holdrege Street).
2. In the event of an emergency, parties must call 911 to receive assistance. LPD will not provide officers/employees to directly supervise transactions.
3. All transactions and exchanges are purely civil matters. LPD will not intervene in determining fair market value of items or goods and will not act as a mediator, arbitrator, witness, or direct supervisor for any transaction or custody exchange.
4. No weapons, drugs, medication, or hazardous items (chemicals, explosives, etc.) will be allowed to be traded utilizing the Swap Spot service.
5. Under no circumstance may any children or items be left unattended on LPD property. If children are left unattended, the parents, guardians, or responsible party may be criminally prosecuted.
6. LPD Service Desk personnel may check items upon request to verify if they are stolen. If items are found to be stolen, an officer will be requested to respond and seize the property. No refunds or compensation will be provided for items found to be stolen.
7. All buyers/sellers are encouraged to verify the identity of persons they are interacting with. If you are given a cashier’s check, money order, or other equivalent, call the bank (via the number listed online, not one provided to you by the person giving you the check) to verify validity of the check or funds.
8. Video evidence will be retained for 30 days. Any requests for video must be made within that timeframe. Any requests beyond 30 days will not be accommodated.

Beware of common scams, such as checks for amounts higher than the amount of the transaction or persons requesting pre-paid cards instead