They have been springing up here and there … and should become a fixture in every community: “Safe Exchange Zones” for conducting the physical interaction oftentimes necessitated by person-to-person online commerce.

The one pictured above is located outside police department headquarters in Hopkinton, Mass., where I happen to live. The HPD tweeted this morning:

So instead of venturing to a stranger’s home, or having a stranger venture to yours, you rendezvous in front of the police station – under the glare of surveillance cameras — to exchange goods and money. (Pro tip: provided your transaction is legal.)

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