Tampa Bay area Craigslist 'safe zones'

Craigslist transactions gone wrong is nothing new to the Tampa Bay area.

On Tuesday, a Pasco man was shot and killed after he arranged to meet with the possible buyer of the dirt bike he was selling in Tampa. And in September of 2016 five teens were arrested after they reportedly lured a man to a home in Riverview, in regards to an ad he placed on Craigslist for repair work, and robbed and carjacked him.

Now, police across the Bay area are making the in-person transaction with someone you don't really know safer by offering various locations to complete your online transaction/exchange.

1. Tampa Police Department: We always tell people that the TPD district offices and headquarters are excellent places to complete the transaction/exchange where you know it's safe. 

• TPD Headquarters
  • One Police Center
  • 411 N. Franklin Street, Tampa, Florida  33602
• District 1
  • 3818 Tampa Bay Boulevard, Tampa, Florida 33614
• District 2
  • 9330 N. 30th Street, Tampa, Florida 33612
• District 3
  • 3808 North 22nd Street, Tampa, Florida 33610

2. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office

• District I
  • 14102 N. 20th Street, Tampa, FL 33613 | 813-247-0600
• District II
  • 2310 N. Falkenburg Road, Tampa, FL 33619 | 813-247-8555
• District III
  • 7202 Gunn Highway, Tampa, FL 33625 | 813-247-0330
• District IV
  • 508 33rd Street SE, Ruskin, FL 33570 | 813-247-0455

3. Hernando County Sheriff's Office: The Hernando Sheriff is now allowing citizens to use its lobbies and parking lots to complete sales setup through online sites such as eBay and Craigslist.

• Sheriff's Office lobby in Brooksville 
  • 18900 Cortez Blvd. and
  • Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sheriff's Office lobby in Spring Hill
  • 7499 Forest Oaks Blvd.
  • Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

4. Clearwater Police Department: Does not have a Craigslist type safe zone.

5. Lakeland Police Department

• Lakeland Police Headquarters
  • 219 N Massachusetts Ave, Lakeland

6. Pasco County Sheriff's Office: Pasco County residents are always welcome to use our parking lot (and often do for custody drop offs and pick ups).

• Sheriff's Office Admin Building
  • 8700 Citizen Dr., New Port Richey or 7432 Little Rd, New Port Richey, FL 34654
• Sheriff's Office Admin Building (for East side residents)
  • 36409 SR 52, Dade City, Fl 33525

7. Pinellas County Sheriff's Office: We don't advertise a "designated safe zone" but we do not prohibit citizens from using our administrative office parking lots for this purpose.

• Pinellas Administrative Office
  • 10750 Ulmerton Rd, Largo, FL
• Pinellas Lobby (Front desk is staffed from 6:00 a.m. to midnight, 7 days per week)
  • 1300 1st Ave North, St. Petersburg, FL

8. Polk County Sheriff's Office:None of our lobbies are open after 5 p.m. so we do not have specified safe zones. We encourage the public to meet during daylight hours (Mon-Fri, 8-5) in our parking lots or lobbies if they'd like.

• PCSO Office
  • 1891 Jim Keene Blvd, Winter Haven

9. Sarasota Police Department: The Sarasota Police Department is offering the Sarasota Police Department lobby as a 'Safe Place' to conduct online transactions.

• Sarasota Police (Lobby hours are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.)
  • 2099 Adams Ln, Sarasota, FL 34237

10. Manatee County Sheriff's Office

• Operations Center
  • 600 U.S. 301 Blvd. W. Bradenton.

11. Temple Terrace Police:

• City Hall
  • 11250 N 56th St, Temple Terrace

12. Winter Haven Police

• Winter Haven Police Department
  • 125 N Lake Silver Dr., NW Winter Haven.

13. Plant City Police: The Plant City Police Department has a video camera monitored parking lot located at the front of our building. If a citizen were looking for a safe place to conduct a Craigslist or similar transaction, our monitored parking lot could facilitate that.

• One Police Place
  • Police Center Drive, Plant City, Florida 33566