CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Police Department (CPD) is seeing
an increase in robberies involving people who are buying items that were
listed for sale on social media marketplaces. The victims are meeting the
sellers to purchase the item and getting robbed at gunpoint.
As a crime prevention measure, the CPD is reminding our community members
that the department has designated space in front of the Police Services
Center at 3410 Amnicola Highway as a Safe Exchange Zone. The purpose of
the CPD Safe Exchange Zone is to protect Chattanooga community members
while swapping, trading, buying, and selling items or during child custody
exchanges. The designated location has several video cameras which record
24/7 to ensure a safe transaction. Anyone wanting to use the space does not
need to check in with the CPD, but should park in the designated Safe
Exchange Zone area to complete their business.
Although there's a designated area with cameras at the CPD, we still
recommend meeting to make exchanges during daylight hours, telling a friend
or family member where you're going, and remember if a deal seems too good
to be true, it's probably a scam.
