Douglas establishes safe location to do custody exchanges, online shopping, meet ‘n greets 

DOUGLAS (WNE) — The Converse County Sheriff’s Office and Douglas Police Department have partnered to provide a “Safe Space” for custody exchanges and online shopping pick-ups / drop-offs in front of the Converse County Joint Justice Center. 

Officials marked the new parking space last week with safety as the top priority because it is under camera surveillance 24/7. 

DPD Administrative Assistant Teya Hineman said they got the idea from seeing a different agency do something similar.

“Chief (Todd) Byerly and I saw the benefit of adding this to our community, just so everyone has access to a well-lit area that is under 24/7 surveillance for these types of things,” she said. “Obviously, things like Facebook Marketplace are popular. We wanted to offer a safe spot for both parties to meet up, rather than perhaps letting a stranger have your address or having to visit a stranger’s home to complete an online purchase.

“Chief took the idea to Sheriff (Clint) Becker and (Joint Communications Manager) Ashley Byerly, and they were immediately on board,” Hineman said. 

In collaboration with Becker and Ashley Byerly, they were able to designate an area that is well lit with high visibility to surveillance cameras. 

“From there, I worked up a simple sample sign for everyone to approve and got it made and installed! Thanks to the City of Douglas Public works, we were able to get these installed this week and now they are up and ready to be used,” Hineman said.

This story was published on Sept. 3, 2025.