The city of Shenandoah Police Department has initiated a program whereby online buyers and sellers will be able to conduct item exchanges at the Shenandoah city hall lobby. The service, which falls under Shenandoah's Safe Transaction Area programs, is for Shenandoah residents who prefer a neutral location to meet after an online purchase. "We feel it's important in this age of online scams or potential fraud or, even worse, violent crime that our residents and merchants be provided a safe area to conduct transactions that have occurred online with strangers that they have never before met in person," Assistant Police Chief Bryan Carlisle said. Carlisle said no residents have yet taken advantage of the service, but he expects residents to begin using it after receiving feedback from recent Facebook and Twitters posts by the city announcing the program. The service is provided to assist with resident safety. "The officers are not going to be checking the validity of the sale or offering advice," Carlisle said. "We're not there to check if an item is stolen or not. We're only there for physical safety." Carlisle added that the police department would not engage in facilitating the sale of firearms. Residents can call 281-367-8952 to arrange for this free service. Service hours are from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon-Fri.