It's tough to prevent miscreants lurking in online classified ads, but police hope to stymie their real-world foul play by inviting such criminals to their front door.
Safe-exchange zones -- continuously surveilled areas where strangers can exchange items bought and sold in online transactions -- are sprouting up at police stations across Arkansas. They give residents who are buying and selling items on websites like Craigslist secure places to conduct business.
Several high-profile cases related to such exchanges have received public attention in recent years, and even a handful of smaller crimes have drawn law enforcement officials' attention.
Chris Williams has been involved in a handful of such exchanges, at least one of which turned ugly.
At a meeting last July at Park Plaza mall in Little Rock, two young men threatened Williams with a gun, stole the phone they had arranged with him to buy, and sped along Markham Street with Williams, 19, of Cabot dangling from a passenger-side window.
That was after Williams helped them jump-start their car.
"I thought we were in the safest place possible," he said of the mall area. "It was even supposed to be light outside, but it had gotten dark by the time we got the car working."
Craigslist is a website that features local classified ads in most medium-to-large cities. More than 60 million people use Craigslist each month in the U.S., according to the company's website.
At least two police departments in Arkansas recently installed safe-exchange zones that feature a few parking spaces, signs and surveillance cameras. The Batesville Police Department created a safe zone in mid-February, and the Springdale Police Department built its zone Feb. 29.
In coming months, several of the state's larger-city police departments plan to do the same. The Little Rock and North Little Rock departments expect to post signs and designate parking in several of their respective precincts. The Jonesboro Police Department hopes to have a zone in place by May 1.
Many police departments around the state don't have designated exchange zones, but they invite people to their headquarters to safely pick up or drop off items bought or sold online.
In 2014, the Fort Smith Police Department began urging residents to conduct their online exchanges in the police station lobby. There, officers could verify that the items for sale were not stolen.
People in Springdale and Batesville are raving about their new exchange zones.
When Batesville police posted a photo of the city's safe-zone sign on Facebook, users shared it more than 5,000 times, and it received more than 10,000 likes.
"You wouldn't believe how many people we see out there [at the safe zone]," said Alan Cockrill, the police chief in the town of about 10,000 people. "I'd say there's at least 15-20 people a week."
In Batesville, the zone has already prevented some crime, Cockrill said. A man called the department several weeks ago about a Craigslist seller with whom he had discussed buying a gun. The seller shied away, however, when the man suggested that they meet at the police station for the exchange.
Officers ran the seller's name through their computer system and learned that he was a convicted felon, meaning it was illegal for him to own a gun. He wasn't arrested because there wasn't any concrete proof that he ever possessed the firearm.
Police across Arkansas agree that they don't see an overwhelming amount of crime linked to Craigslist and similar sites, but all said they've seen some.
Perhaps the most publicized case happened in February 2015 outside a secluded warehouse in south Little Rock. Frank Steinsiek, a 56-year-old appliance technician from Sherwood, was found shot to death at a warehouse on Allied Way off West 65th Street. An investigation revealed that Jeramye Morgan Hobbs, 24, of Little Rock lured Steinsiek there posing as a buyer for a motorcycle Steinsiek had listed for sale on Craigslist, according to the Little Rock Police Department.
Hobbs is awaiting trial on capital murder charges.
Even in places like Batesville, which hasn't seen horrific crimes stemming from Craigslist ads, safe-exchange zones give residents "peace of mind," Cockrill said.
Lt. Steve McClanahan, a spokesman for the Little Rock Police Department, worked on the south Little Rock murder case. He encouraged Little Rock residents to meet people from Craigslist in highly public places that have video surveillance.
"That was in an obscure spot," McClanahan said, referring to Steinsiek's death. "You always want to meet people somewhere like Target or Wal-Mart. Just use common sense," he said.
Williams, the robbery victim, loved the idea of a safe-exchange zone in Little Rock. He'd like Craigslist to create a function on its website to help users locate the nearest safe-exchange zone.
Williams thought the mall was a public enough place for his exchange, but still he was robbed and injured. He said he hopes criminals will be deterred by meeting at a police station.
While the exchange zones provide a layer of protection, they won't prevent scams and bad deals, police said.
"We can't help you there," said Paul Holmes, a Jonesboro police spokesman. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
Metro on 04/03/2016