Crimes linked to online transactions are sparse in Howard County, but the county police are nevertheless hoping to address a national issue — and a lingering concern for some — with its Transaction Safe Place initiative.

Lt. Jennifer Reidy-Hall said the initiative establishes a safe meeting place outside the department's Northern and Southern District police stations where sellers and purchasers can complete their online transactions.

While no officers are present, each spot is marked with yellow signs and surveillance video records the area at all times. Residents may also use the stations' main lobbies, Reidy-Hall said.

County police launched the program in mid-September. Since then, the parking spots have been used at both districts, Reidy-Hall said, though the department does not record how often they are used.

Costs for establishing Transaction Safe Place were less than $100 for signs, she said.

The spots are located at the Northern District station, 3410 Court House Drive in Ellicott City; and the Southern District station, 11226 Scaggsville Road in Laurel.

Most online transactions take place between people who do not know each other, which can be disconcerting for some when those purchases require a face-to-face exchange.

“We're always looking for ways to make the community's life safer [and] I thought it was a great idea,” said Reidy-Hall, who started the initiative in the county with the help of the department's crime investigations bureau.

In Howard County,afew robberies and assaults related to online transactions were reported in 2014, Reidy-Hall said, and two crimes were reported the following year.

In April 2015, someone was robbed at gunpoint in Laurel after arranging a transaction, she said. Two months later, the department received another report after someone was robbed in Ellicott City during a transaction meetup.

“We didn't have any huge violent cases, but we're not immune to anything,” Reidy-Hall said.

“It was more of a preventive measure and less a reactionary measure to protect the citizens of Howard County.”

Police Chief Gary Gardner said that with the growing popularity of online sale sites, the police department is determined to maintain security for all parties involved.

“If someone seems uncomfortable with agreeing to make an exchange at the police station, there should be a red flag for a resident about that sale,” Gardner said.

Consultant analyst Peter Zollman, of AIM Group interactive media and advertising, said online transactions may create dangerous circumstances for buyers and sellers. Zollman said at least 300 law enforcement departments throughout the country are creating safe transaction zones.

“We often hear that you should do complete transactions in a public place or always go to a place like a Walmart parking lot,” Zollman said. “That is no guarantee you're safe. The smart thing to do is say to the person you're buying or selling from, ‘Hey, for your safety and mine, let's meet at the police station.'?”

“We're hopeful that in about a year or so every police department will have” a similar program, he said.

The Annapolis Police Department launched a similar program in May 2015.

Annapolis Cpl. Amy Miguez said their department's parking lot has “definitely been used” for online transactions. The department does not keep track of how many people use the designated spots, she said.

“Certainly people also use it for other things, like child custody swaps,” Miguez said. “It's not like they couldn't have done it before, but we wanted to make sure people were aware that this was an option.”

Annapolis police said they have also had residents clear products with officers, making sure the sales were legitimate prior to meeting.

“If they have an item they want to check to see if it was stolen, we can check it if it has a serial number,” she said. “It's been a handful of times that people have done that.”