A sign outside the Deerfield Police department designating it as a safe place to conduct in-person purchases from online marketplaces, such as Craigslist.
A sign outside the Deerfield Police department designating it as a safe place to conduct in-person purchases from online marketplaces, such as Craigslist. Credit: Recorder Staff/Andy Castillo

DEERFIELD — Local residents conducting in-person transactions from online marketplaces such as Craigslist now have a safe place to do business.

A new sign posted outside the police station on Conway Street designates the area as an “internet purchase exchange location.”

The Police Department posted on its Facebook page that the sign was installed “to let everyone know that we have a place to safely conduct those internet sales.”

Patrolman Adam Sokoloski said the safe purchasing area is the result of the department’s desire to keep the public safe.

“We already have the cameras in place, it’s recorded and lit,” he said. “It’s just one of those things we thought of to keep the community safer.”

Sokoloski also said the signs could work as a deterrent to stop crime before it happens. Mentioning the police station as a place to meet when conducting a transaction might prevent criminal activity, he said.

The sign was purchased for just under $100, and was installed by the Department of Public Works for no charge.