KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Across the metro more of designated exchange zones outside police stations are popping up.
They're well lit, you have officers and people are coming and going at all hours and there's even specific parking spots to do the transaction and make sure everyone stays safe.
At the meet-up spot to exchange goods bought and sold on the internet outside the Independence Police Department headquarters every move is recorded 24/7.
"Any of these online apps they can pose as anybody and if we don't know them, there's always that unknown risk that we're dealing with," Officer Jack Taylor, spokesperson for the Independence Police Department, said.
Exchanges often happen without a problem but when things do go wrong it's usually because of a robbery.
"We've had people meet up to try to buy cell phones that they're getting on marketplace or Craigslist or something like that," Taylor said. "There was never a cell phone to be sold, and so you show up with your $1,000 to pay this person for a cell phone, and they rob you of your $1,000."
But there are some simple steps to protect yourself.
"Do your homework when you're meeting with somebody, see who that person is see if they have sold anything in the past," Detective Mike Fowler with the Independence Police Department Street Crimes Unit said.
And when you decide a time and place, arrive early.
"You want to put yourself at a better advantage to know your area that you're meeting with this person," Fowler said.
Above all the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department highly encourages meeting at a police station.
"If you offer that to a person who is looking to meet up with and they say no, I want you to come to a neighborhood, or I want you to come to a house or an address you're not familiar with that could be a red flag," Sgt. Jake Becchina, a KCPD spokesperson said.
Police also recommend that people do sales or trades during daylight hours.
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Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
