Police in Victoria are launching a new service to help people feel safer when using online marketplaces.
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00:00I'm here outside one of 35 Safer Exchange sites that have been set up outside 24-hour
00:07police stations across Victoria.
00:10And this concept was originally developed after police saw a spike in thefts, robberies
00:15and assaults linked to online trading just before the 2020 lockdowns, with smartphones
00:21being the most common high-value item stolen.
00:25Now while that trend decreased, they don't want to actually see one of these emerging
00:30crime themes becoming an embedded trend within the crime statistics, and that's why they've
00:34got on the front foot making sure that people feel much more comfortable than if they have
00:39to conduct their exchanges of goods that they've bought or sold online, either at their own
00:44homes or in parks or car parks.
00:47So these police stations have clear signs saying Safer Exchange sites.
00:52They also have CCTV and also the opportunity to get some help from police just indoors
00:59if things do go awry.
01:01But police say that they want to also make sure that people consider the risks, even
01:06if they do use these Safer Exchange sites, perhaps ensuring that they conduct these trades
01:11during daylight hours, or also consider bringing a friend along for that exchange of goods.