Office of Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland
Date: Monday, June 24, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
contact: Aigner Cleveland
Press Secretary
Chester Police Department Partners with OfferUp to Provide Safe MeetUp Spot During Internet Exchanges
(CHESTER, PA) – Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland and the Chester Police Department are pleased to announce a new partnership with OfferUp that will provide the community with a safe “meetup spot” to exchange items purchased via the internet.
MeetUp Spots are designated areas for buyers and sellers from online and mobile marketplaces to meet in-person to complete a transaction. “Times are changing, as are the needs of the people we serve and protect,” said Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland. “We recognize those changes, and having this safe meetup spot is an easy way for us to help keep our community safer.”
The official meetup spot will be the Chester Police Department, located at 160 E. 7th Street. “Anyone in the area who has purchased an item online can arrange to meet in front of the police department,” said Police Commissioner Otis Blair. “People should look for a green sign that has the words, ‘Meetup Spot’ on it. This location should give people the reassurance that they are safe if they are meeting to exchange items purchased online.”
OfferUp works with an extensive network of more than 700 law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S. to minimize crime and promote safer practices for offline transactions.
“Our ability to partner with the Chester Police Department allows us to bring collective and focused effort and investment to the well-being of this community by improving the security of in-person transactions,” said Natalie Angelillo, VP of Community at OfferUp. “Our MeetUp Spots program helps serve the much needed purpose of providing an easy and free way to establish a community location that is public, surveilled, well lit, and monitored by the police department. OfferUp is proud to have a partner in Chester to support our commitment to building trust in communities throughout the country.”
MeetUp Spot Location in Chester:
Chester Police Department
160 E. 7th Street
Chester, PA 19013
About OfferUp:
OfferUp is dedicated to reinventing the way people buy and sell in their communities. As the largest and fastest growing mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers in the U.S., the company offers iOS and Android apps that make selling an item as easy as snapping a picture from your mobile device. The privately held company is based in Bellevue, Wash. and backed by top investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Warburg Pincus, GGV Capital, Altimeter Capital and Allen & Company. For more information, visit www.offerup.com and follow us at www.twitter.com/offerup and www.facebook.com/offerup.