The City of Lafayette and the Lafayette Police Department will be offering a space for the exchange of property being purchased both online and through traditional avenues. The space is located at the Lafayette Fire Department Station #5 at Creasy Ln and Union St on the south side of the station, next to the building. There are clearly marked parking spaces and signs that indicate that the area is under surveillance and intended to be used for the exchange. There are also surveillance cameras positioned around the spaces to give the best angles to capture the interactions, vehicle descriptions, and license plate numbers. These cameras will not be monitored 24/7, but will record in case an incident occurs. The parking lot is well-lit and in public view of major roadways.
The intent of the spaces is to provide a publicly accessible space where people can exchange goods in a location that is recorded. Although there is no way to completely eliminate the potential threats people may face while purchasing goods, we hope to provide a safer environment to mitigate these threats. These exchanges can be initiated online (Craigslist, Ebay, etc.) or by traditional means (newspaper classifieds, word of mouth, etc.). People are invited to utilize this space at any time.
Pictures of the location, as well as still photos from the surveillance cameras, are attached to this release. Any questions should be directed to the undersigned.
Lt. Brian Gossard
Community Outreach and Crime Prevention