Amid an uptick in crime, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is encouraging people buying and selling online to use their Safe Exchange Location program to help mitigate crime and violence during exchanges of items and money through websites and social media.
Sites like Craigslist and Facebook marketplace include a multitude of items to buy and sell, but MPD encourages users to be cautious about the exchange process. The designated areas, which provide a safe, monitored location for these transactions, are aimed to prevent pre-staged robberies.
MPD strongly encourages sellers to meet buyers at their closest exchange zone. They also encourage the public to be wary of meeting people who refuse to meet at a Safe Exchange Zone location.
The safe exchange locations have been established at police stations across the District:
- First District Station: 101 M St. SW
- Second District Station: 3320 Idaho Ave NW
- Third District Station: 1620 V St. NW
- Fourth District Station: 6001 Georgia Ave NW
- Fifth District Station: 1805 Bladensburg Rd NE
- Sixth District Station: 5002 Hayes St. NE
- Seventh District Station: 2455 Alabama Ave SE
- Special Operations Division’s Harbor Patrol: 550 Water St. SW
Visit mpd.dc.gov for more information.
Sarah Payne is a reporter for Capital Community News. She can be reached at sarahp@hillrag.com.
