Naperville Police Station to Serve as Safe Haven for People Using Craigslist, Other Sites

The Naperville Police Department wants to keep residents safe while conducting transactions online.

In an effort to prevent buyers or sellers from becoming victims while using sites such as Craigslist, the department is now allowing people to meet at the police station to finalize personal transactions.

Police have dubbed the program Buyers and Sellers Environment of Safety (B.A.S.E.S.).

Residents may use the front lobby, 1350 Aurora Ave., as a “safe haven” to meet and complete transactions from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday through Friday.

Those with larger items that cannot be carried into the building can use the front public parking area, police said.

“Our efforts are to provide a safe environment and reduce the potential of criminals targeting victims under the ruse of sale transactions at locations other than the Naperville Police Department,” Naperville police said in a news release. “This initiative is an extension of the department providing a safe environment for parents who have civil agreements to exchange their children for visitation.”

The program comes a month after a Georgia couple was murdered after traveling to purchase a classic car on Craigslist.

• Robbery Motive for Craigslist Couple’s Murder

In 2013, an Illinois teen allegedly gunned down a man he’d met outside a Tinley Park 7-Eleven for a Craigslist transaction.

• Markham Teen Charged in Tinley Park 7-Eleven Murder

Naperville police said those who choose not to use the police department to complete an online transaction are urged to fellow a few common sense precautions when meeting someone for the first time:

• Insist on a public meeting place; do not meet in a secluded location.
• Do not invite strangers to your home.
• Be especially careful when buying/selling high value items.
• Tell a friend where you are going or have a friend accompany you.
• Take your cell phone.
• Trust your instincts.

“The Naperville Police Department is strictly providing a safe haven and will not facilitate, or otherwise be associated in any way with, any transactions occurring between private parties,” police said. “Rules of Craigslist and other personal transaction sites should be followed. Also, no such transactions related to weapons of any kind will be allowed at the Naperville Police Department.”