For the annual Police Week this year, Perth County OPP are highlighting the importance of community partnerships.
Police Week, which runs May 9th-15th, carries a theme this year of "Working Together to Keep Our Communities Safe."
With that in mind, Perth County OPP are drawing attention to Project Safe Trade, which the release states is "one of the programs that is designed to assist online buyers and sellers in having a safe place to complete their transactions." According to the release, online auctions and sales sites are often used as tools to sell stolen property to unknowing victims, and can present a safety threat. In order to combat this, the OPP has created a "community safe zone" in an effort to "move online marketplace transactions away from secluded parking lots or private residences and bring them into public places."
A North Perth resident, Becky Nauta, was key in establishing a Safe Trade Zone in North Perth. As a result, North Perth Council and the local OPP have designated the North Perth OPP Detachment and the Municipality of North Perth office, located at 330 Wallace Avenue North in Listowel, as the ideal location to implement Project Safe Trade. Two parking spots have been designated as a Safe Trade zone in the parking lot in front of the building. These spots are marked with signs, and the public is encouraged to utilize these spots to conduct online buy-and-sell exchanges.
"The Municipality of North Perth is pleased to partner with the Perth County OPP on the Project Safe Trade initiative. We're happy to provide the space in our centrally located municipal parking lot to help our residents conduct their online trade exchanges safely. We encourage residents to take advantage of this area and share the opportunity with their friends and family," says North Perth CAO Kriss Snell.
"The Perth County OPP is proud to work together with the Municipality of North Perth, and Ms. Nauta, to bring Project Safe Trade to the community. This is an excellent example of community stakeholders working together towards implementing a safe method for residents to complete their online transactions," adds Inspector Dave Sinko of the Perth County OPP.
For more information on the Project Safe Trade, see www.opp.ca/safetrade.