PAOLI — The Orange County Sheriff's Department has offered its lobby and parking lot to residents wanting to meet in a safe, neutral location for child custody exchanges for years.
So when the Indiana Sheriff's Association advised all the sheriff departments in Indiana to allow people to meet at departments for transactions set up through websites, such as Craigslist, it was a no-brainer for Orange County Sheriff Josh Babcock.
"First of all, people act a little bit different when they’re at the police department," Babcock said. "They're a little bit better behaved."
Also, the department has cameras viewing the parking lot. If there are any incidents, the video footage can be used as evidence, Babcock explained.
"We've encouraged it a lot instead of them going into homes," Babcock said. "It just gives them peace of mind."
He said Orange County has not experienced any incidents from people meeting for Craigslist transactions, but officers have responded to calls about disputes relating to child custody issues.
"We’ve had altercations in the parking lot where it’s turned to battery," Babcock said. "We’ve used (security footage) several times.
"We’ve had child exchanges were one parent will say they were there on time, but the other side says they weren’t," Babcock explained. Security cameras at the sheriff's department will show who was on time and who wasn't, he explained.
"There’s not been that many disputes, and the reason I think there’s not that many is because they are here at the police department," Babcock said.
Also, people are able to go to the police department at any time — day or night.
"Anytime they want to meet, they can," Babcock said. "They don’t have to schedule a time. They can do it whenever they want to."
Other police departments in south central Indiana provide similar services.
Spencer Chief of Police Richard Foutch has already offered the Spencer Police Department as a safe and neutral place for Craigslist patrons to meet and do business.
“It gives people another option,” Foutch said for an earlier Herald-Times article. “If you do not feel safe, feel free to use our lobby.”
And Sheriff Mike Branham hopes to have the Lawrence County Police Department available for the same purposes in a few months. He said he wants the parking lot north of the jail to be cleared out and more security cameras up before people meet there for business transactions.
"Hopefully everything will be in place by spring," Branham said.
Babcock said with this measure in place, they can always go back and view the video footage afterward.