'Safe zone' near jail is for transactions with strangers

​According to research done by Advanced Interactive Media Group, as of January this year, more than 100 slayings have been linked to Craigslist postings. 

Liberty County Sheriff Steve Sikes has implemented a “safe zone” to keep people from being added to those statistics and provide a safe area away from people’s private residence to meet for transactions or needed exchanges. 

“I saw an article that Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie had written. … They did one of these in Effingham County, and I thought it was a great idea and felt that we needed to implement it here,” Sikes said during a news conference held Thursday at the Liberty County Jail on Paul Sikes Road. 

There is now a designated parking area marked with red paint and a sign. It is a reserved space marked as a safe transaction zone for Internet, EBay and Craigslist purchases as well as a neutral spot for child custody exchanges.  

Sikes said the safe zone is under video surveillance 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and law-enforcement officials are inside the building and patrolling the jail. He said if people are not willing to meet at the safe zone, it may be wise not to complete the deal.

Liberty County Sherriff Steve Sikes standing in front of safe zone sign