Edgewood, MD

Tactics Used

Auto Seizure
Buyer Arrests
Cameras
Community Service
Employment Loss
Identity Disclosure
IT Based Tactics
John School
Letters
License Suspension
Neighborhood Action
Public Education
Reverse Stings
SOAP Orders
Web Stings

Edgewood is a community of about 25,000 residents in Harford County in northeast Maryland.  Problems associated with commercial sex in the area are well-documented and include child sex trafficking.  To identify and apprehend local sex buyers driving the prostitution and sex trafficking markets, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and municipal police have conducted street-level reverse stings, some in response to community complaints.  Police release the names of arrestees to the local media. For example, in September 2016 a web-based reverse sting was conducted by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.  Police placed an ad on Backpage.com; suspects contacted an undercover female deputy to arrange a date, and when they arrived and offered money to the female at the hotel, the men were arrested. Six men were charged with soliciting prostitution, while one woman was taken into custody for prostituting. The detail took place at hotels in Edgewood and Aberdeen where the suspects had arranged to meet a woman who later turned out to be an undercover deputy. The identities of the buyers were publicly released.

Key Partners

  • Harford County Sheriff’s Office
State Maryland
Type City
Population 25065
Location
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