PHOTO: Fort Payne Police Department Assistant Chief Ronnie Warren and Captain Lee Traylor with the new signs designating the "safe space" in the parking lot of the Fort Payne Police Department. (Tyler Pruett | Southern Torch)

By Tyler Pruett, Managing Editor 

tyler@southerntorch.com

FORT PAYNE, Ala. — Yesterday, the Fort Payne Police Department unveiled new, "Safe Space" Parking Spots next to the police station on Gault Avenue.

When many hear of a, "Safe Space," they think of a place for millennial college students to go to avoid pesky emotional triggers (and sometimes reality), but in the real world, safe spaces are needed with video surveillance so that people can conduct transactions that sometimes come with risk, such as child custody exchanges, or internet buy/sell transactions with people not personally known.

The "Safe Space" is designed to protect citizens from becoming victims of robberies, thefts, and scams associated with online transaction sites such as Craigslist and E-bay.  The zone will also provide parents a safer location to exchange children per custodial agreements or court orders. It is highly recommend citizens not make these transactions alone.

While the internet can be a great place to find good deals; buying or selling items to strangers can be risky. In 2015, a Cobb County Georgia couple drove 200 miles from their home, never to be seen alive again.

Elrey “Bud” and June Runion, of Marietta, thought they were answering an online ad for a vintage Mustang, but turned out instead to be a scheme by 28-year-old Adrian Ronnie Towns to rob the couple. Four days after the couple was reported missing, their bodies were recovered in Southeast Georgia. Towns currently stands accused of their murder.

Fort Payne will now be providing a safe place under 24/7 surveillance so that citizens can safely conduct these transactions and hopefully prevent similar tragedies.