Littleton Police Create Craigslist Safe Zone

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Littleton Police Create Craigslist Safe Zone

LITTLETON — Police Chief Matthew J. King reports that the Littleton Police Department has instituted a new program that provides a safe meeting place for residents looking to complete online transactions from websites like Craigslist.

The community is encouraged to use the parking area and front lobby of the police station to finish online purchases and sales. Both areas are under constant video surveillance and the station is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“When completing online transactions on sites like Craigslist, there can be a lot of uncertainty about the person behind the computer,” Chief King said. “Typically with this type of exchange, you are meeting with a stranger who you have only dealt with online. It’s our hope that by offering the police station as a place to meet we will not only make these transactions safer, but we will also ease the anxiety created from these situations.”

While the police department makes no guarantees as to the quality or authenticity of items purchased, the hope is that people will feel more comfortable meeting strangers to complete a financial transaction in a public place, covered by security cameras, like the police station.

This initiative is one of several ways the Police Department is working to make Littleton a great place to live, work and visit, including:

• The Littleton Student Police Academy, a week-long course of instruction for 7-8 graders on a week in the life at the Police Academy,
• Fraud protection training for seniors women and children, and
• Targeted traffic enforcement in response to residential concerns.

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