They’re called Safe Exchange Zones: designated spaces – marked with signage - at the Kent County Sheriff’s Department main office and North and South substations.
“All three locations have cameras pointed right at that sign and it covers that area.
That’s Public Information Sergeant Scott Dietrich.
“So, if you were to meet up with someone in that area, and something were to go wrong, we would have that all video recorded. And if you were to call 911, depending on hours, we would actually be able to have someone log into that video and live stream and see what's going on there while we're on the way to help.”
The department has always encouraged meetings at a safe location but having a designated, monitored site takes safety one step further.
“We had one incident last year that comes to my mind where an online sale ended up in a homicide in Alpine Township. If this is an easy, simple way to prevent that to let people come here, whether they want to come inside our lobby or just meet outside at that sign, they're very welcome to do so.”
The safe exchange zones complement the department’s Real-Time Intelligence Center connecting county police agency monitoring systems with participating commercial and residential cameras for improved emergency response.
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