Kyle PD offering a safe zone for online purchases

We’ve all heard the stories. Someone offers to sell a neat car or a new television on an on-line marketplace such as Craig’s List. A buyer becomes interested and is told to meet the seller at the corner of Dark and Lonely streets around 11 p.m. and make sure he has the necessary cash on hand. Before the transaction is completed, the buyer is robbed, beaten and, at best, left for dead on the secluded spot.

The Kyle Police Department is taking steps to eliminate any anxieties when it comes to conducting transactions of this type by telling all the parties in the transaction "Do your business right here in the lobby of the police building. Any time. Any day."

According to a release distributed today by the City of Kyle: the Police Department is calling this program "Safe Trade" and it "provides a safe, well-lit and video monitored location for people to pick up items they purchased online or receive payment for items they sold."

The release goes on to say "Since the lobby of the KPD police station is open 24/7, Safe Trade transactions can take place at most any time of day. There is no need to call ahead or make any kind of reservation; simply tell the other party to meet you at 111 N. Front Street in Kyle, inside the lobby. For larger, heavier items, including furniture and bikes, the KPD parking lot in front of the station is also available to make safe trades."

And if one of the parties says another meeting place is preferable, my advice would be to quickly back away from the deal. Just saying.