Buying/selling something on Craigslist ??

Why not meet your seller/buyer at the police station?  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explains:

After a recent rash of robberies involving people trying to sell items on the web site Craigslist, Milwaukee police on Monday encouraged people to conclude their transactions at perhaps one of the safest places in town - the local police station...

A 33-year-old man wanting to sell a cell phone met a suspect at the gas station. The suspect got into the victim's car and forced him drive to the back of the parking lot, where he threatened the victim with a small revolver. He went through the victim's pockets and took $40. After a fight, the robber and another suspect stole two cell phones from the victim. Other robberies of people wanting to sell iPads and vehicles happened Jan. 15 and 19...

"This is nothing new. It's happening all over the country," police officer Lisa Staffold said Monday. "The media has deemed it 'robbery by appointment' because you're posting ads, you're selling your iPhones, your iPads, your vehicles, and when you go to a meeting location, you're being robbed."

The crimes are done by either pretend-buyers who show up to rob the seller of the advertised item, or pretend-sellers, who want to steal money from the buyer.

Police hope to put a stop to the robberies by having sellers and buyers meet at a safe place. "If they don't want to meet you at a safe place, if they don't want to meet you at a police district, that should be a red flag, an indicator: Don't do business with that individual," Staffold said.

Very clever idea, found at The Consumerist.