Bristol is a city of about 17,000 residents located in the southeastern part of Virginia.  The city straddles the Northeastern border of Tennessee, and is considered part of the “Tri-Cities” area comprised of Bristol (Virginia and Tennessee), Johnson City (Tennessee), Kingsport (Tennessee) and surrounding smaller communities.  A wide range of problems associated with commercial sex has been documented in the area, including the activity of a serial killer who specifically targeted prostituted women.

Efforts to address local problems associated with commercial sex have included the use of tactics focusing on demand.  Bristol, Virginia and the Tennessee Tri-Cities have all conducted reverse stings on city streets using police decoys. The names, ages, and hometowns of the men arrested have been posted in the news with details of the operations. In January 2018, at least 10 men seeking to pay to sexually abuse children contacted a Bristol Virginia police officer’s decoy social media profile. A vice unit detective created the social media profile that attracted the men, nine of whom were arrested and charged.