Parking spaces at sheriff’s stations and possibly other county locations will be turned into safe spaces people can meet to complete online sales, or to pick up and drop off children in shared custody situations.

The “safe zones” program, proposed by Supervisor Don Wagner, would designate spots with good lighting and surveillance cameras at sheriff’s facilities around Orange County for such exchanges. Some cities with their own police departments, including Irvine and Buena Park, already offer similar exchange spots.

It’s unknown how much the county program will cost or how many locations it will end up including.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department headquarters in Santa Ana doesn’t have a public parking lot, but there are parking spaces at the substations in Lake Forest and Aliso Viejo, and the department has space, usually at city halls, in the 13 cities it is contracted to serve, department spokeswoman Carrie Braun said.

Sheriff’s staff will work with the county to “assess each station or police services location individually and then make recommendations to the board,” she said.

Before the Board of Supervisors signed off on the proposal Tuesday, Wagner said the point is to offer a protected place that’s easy to find, “so you’re not meeting with somebody you don’t know in a place that’s out of the way.”

“We are seeing an increase in e-commerce sales and an increase in violence or theft when the parties meet up to complete the transaction,” he said later. “We want to bring more peace of mind for any potentially troubling in-person interactions.”

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