Ottawa Police Service announces Project Safe Trade for marketplace item transactions

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) has launched its new initiative Project Safe Trade, which will see dedicated parking spots at three police stations in the city for residents to engage in marketplace, website, or any other type of personal sales and trades.

In an effort to increase public safety and reduce crime, the OPS invites the public to use their designated Safe Trade locations to facilitate these person-to-person exchanges.

Safe Trade parking spots are clearly marked to help residents identify locations for a safe exchange.

The three locations are downtown at 466 Metcalfe Street, in the visitors’ parking lot behind the 474 Elgin Street police station, the Kanata police station located at 211 Huntmar Drive, and the Orléans police station at 3343 St-Joseph Boulevard.

When buying and selling items, here are some other safety tips from Ottawa police:

• Do not invite the other party to your home to complete the trade
• When meeting for the trade, we recommend you bring a friend and meet in a public place with extensive lighting and video surveillance, like a shopping mall, but preferably a Safe Trade spot at a police station
• Meet during daylight hours if you’re planning to meet in person and any last-minute changes to the location should be considered a red flag. Police recommend you walk away from the exchange rather than go to a second location

Ottawa police said in a release that Safe Trade Zones are not monitored 24/7 but did not indicate exactly when or if the spots were monitored.

The OPS would like to remind everyone to keep their safety at the forefront when meeting for an exchange with a stranger, regardless of location.