Saturday, February 21, 2015

CRAIGLIST BUYING AT THE FULSHEAR COP SHOP

A small Texas police department provides a safe place for Craiglist shoppers

Shopping on Craiglist and similar social media websites can be a risky business. Not only can you get ripped off while buying or selling on Craiglist, but you are literally risking your life dealing with strangers. Crooks are using the sites to prey on innocent victims. Last month, a Georgia couple was murdered after they drove to a secluded area to buy a vintage car listed on Craigslist. Last year a Houston man thought he was buying a Sony PlayStation when he was robbed and shot to death. Craiglist shoppers throughout the country have been ripped off, robbed and assaulted.

Fulshear, Texas is a small city just west Houston. Its police department is now providing Craiglist buyers and sellers a safe place to conduct their transactions. They are being encouraged to meet in the police station’s parking lot or inside the cop shop’s lobby if they prefer.

Fulshear Police Chief Kenny Seymour says, “You are dealing with the unknown you are meeting people for the first time you don't know, generally these involve cash transactions, the criminal knows that and is where he is taking advantage of these individuals.”

The parking lot is covered by eight surveillance cameras. Those cameras would discourage a crook from attempting to rob his intended victim.

Chief Seymour said his officers will also check to see if any items being bought or sold are stolen. "Just to ensure that everything is kosher with these transactions, we are willing to take the items if they have identification numbers to make sure they are not stolen.”

What a great idea! By providing its parking lot or police station lobby as safe transaction places, the Fulshear Police Department has put real meaning in the police motto: To Protect and To Serve.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now that's what a call pro-active policing!

bob walsh said...

They saw a problem and they addressed it in a reasonable, non-intrusive fashion. Good for them.