Graham is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 census the population was over 17,000. It is the county seat of Alamance County. Prostitution activity has been well-documented within the city, and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses.

Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies as a strategy for prevention and response. For example, in a web-based reverse sting conducted in June 2017, nine men were charged following a prostitution sting operation at a local hotel in Graham, North Carolina. Online ads were posted by undercover investigators, and some arranged to buy sex at the hotel.  The nine arrests occurred in a six hour span. The purpose of the operation was to decrease demand for prostitution in the area, which has been linked to human trafficking concerns, according to local police.  The identities of the arrestees were publicly released.  The Graham Police Department was assisted by the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, Burlington Police Department, Gibsonville Police Department, Mebane Police Department, Haw River Police Department, the Alamance County District Attorney’s Office, the NC State Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security.

In December, 2019, the Graham Police Department assisted in a collaborative operation in Burlington, NC.  Eleven men were arrested and charged with soliciting prostitution after an undercover operation by the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, Burlington and Graham police, and the State Bureau of Investigation. Detectives had placed an online ad promoting sexual services, and the 11 suspects solicited them for paid sex. The suspects were arrested when they arrived at the operation’s location. Those arrested were charged with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution, and their identities were included in news releases.