Blue Line Safety Zone now in Sisters

Need to make a legal exchange of goods with a stranger, or exchange child custody in a tense relationship? There’s now a safe place in Sisters to conduct that kind of business.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has established a Blue Line Safety Zone in Sisters. This clearly marked and well-lit location is for the Sisters community to use for the various kinds of exchanges that occur every day in Central Oregon. By providing a location in the parking lot of the sheriff’s office substation in Sisters, the sheriff’s office hopes to deter those that would take advantage of or do harm to those in our community.

Sheriff Shane Nelson said, “Law enforcement is known as the Thin Blue Line, protecting our community by delivering superior public safety and service. Our office strives to be as proactive as we can be in delivering this service. The Sheriff’s Blue Line Safety Zone provides a safer, video-recorded public area for parent exchanges of children as well as in-person transactions following online sales.”

Deputies will not get involved in or directly monitor transactions; however, they will have video surveillance available to refer back to in the event of need. Community members should call 911 from this location should an emergency arise.

Meeting a person unknown to you to complete an online transaction comes with inherent risk. Community members should always use caution and choose a public location to complete any online transaction, the sheriff’s office notes.