Woodstock, Lake in the Hills police offer 'safe havens' for Internet sales

Residents looking to exchange goods they've bought or sold on Craigslist can now look toward police parking lots in Lake in the Hills and Woodstock for the meet-up.

Joining a national trend, both police departments recently designated their parking lots and front lobbies as Internet “safe havens” for the increasing number of buyers and sellers who shop online and exchange products in person.

Lake in the Hills Police Chief David Brey said the designation creates a safeguard for strangers who decide to meet and swap goods bought or sold through Craigslist and other online marketplaces.

“Somebody who is setting up an illegitimate transaction is not going to meet the other party in a police parking lot to do it,” Brey said.

The Lake in the Hills department created the Internet sale zone earlier this winter after a resident suggested the idea would better protect people who shop online, Brey said.

A hookup between online buyers and sellers at the Lake in the Hills police parking lot allows authorities to respond quickly if the transaction goes awry, Brey said.

The parking lot is under all-day video surveillance, monitored by dispatchers who can alert officers’ attention to an issue or crime they see developing.

Although not required, people looking to exchange online goods also can call the Lake in the Hills department before the meet-up and alert officers’ attention to it, Brey said. If requested, an officer also can oversee the transaction in person.

Numerous police departments across Illinois and the country have created similar zones in recent years, as stories about crimes committed during the in-person exchanges have made headlines.

A 2010 study from AIM Group found that police across the country linked 330 lesser crimes, 105 robberies and 12 murders to Craigslist transactions made in 2010. The Florida-based AIM Group is a consulting firm that specializes in interactive media and classified advertising.

In Illinois, police departments in Naperville, Peoria and other cities have created similar safe havens to the one in Lake in the Hills.

Woodstock police earlier this spring became the second police agency in McHenry County to offer a Internet safe haven.

Like the one in Lake in the Hills, the Woodstock department’s parking lot is under all-day video surveillance. Online buyers and sellers are encouraged, but not required, to tell Woodstock officers about the meet-up before it takes place.

Few residents have used the department’s parking lot and front lobby as a meeting location for online transactions, Chief Robert Lowen said. But as the awareness grows, the service – residents will find – wards off online buyers or sellers looking to commit a crime, Lowen said.

“There is a chance you can get robbed. People come selling an iPhone, meets a person, holds a gun to them, and then they are out of here,” Lowen said. “I think it’s a good service.”