Huntingdon police set up meeting place for online exchanges

HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — With online exchanges becoming more common, one town is making sure people in the area have a safe place to meet after making an online sale.

“I think it gives people a since of security,” Huntingdon resident Kimberly Douglas said.

When it comes to buying an item from a stranger online, Douglas says meeting up in an unfamiliar place can be a scary situation.

“I won’t meet anybody unless it’s in a public place, and I think the use of the police department is going to be wonderful for people,” she said.

Douglas and others in the area now have a place in the heart of town designed specifically for these types of deals, under surveillance 24/7.

“There’s incidents across the country where people would show up to make a sale or make a buy, and they would be robbed,” Huntingdon Director of Public Safety Walter Smothers said.

Smothers said the department partnered with the online site offerup.com to use their police station parking lot as a safe place for people to meet.

“It gives some safety to the issue of people making these exchanges and provides some service for them for their safety,” Smothers said.

Those with the police department say they hope this is the first step when it comes to decreasing these types of crimes.

“There’s people who get killed and robbed, and all kinds of bad things can happen when you’re going to places you don’t know and meeting someone you don’t know,” Lt. Angie Barker with the Huntingdon Police Department said.

Smothers says the site offerup.com has placed more than 400 meeting spots across the country, hoping to encourage people buying items online to be safe and take precautions.

“No matter where you meet, it’s always important you pay attention to your surroundings,” Smothers said.

Smothers says you don’t have to live in Huntingdon to use their community meet-up spot. He says people have driven as far as from Tupelo, Mississippi, to the area to make exchanges.

Visit offerup.com to find a list of community meet-up locations.