Events occurring early in 2018 suggest that publicly accessible online advertising sites may not be as readily available for use by those seeking to facilitate commercial sex, and consequently, by law enforcement agencies that use them to conduct internet-based reverse stings. In February and March 2018, a federal bill entitled “Allow States and Victims to Fight […]
In August of 2017, the Bellevue Police Department and King County Sheriff’s Office arrested more than 100 people in a large scale reverse sting aimed at online prostitution and sex trafficking. Over seven days, dozens of sex buyers answered online ads posted by undercover detectives, and exchanged text messages describing sex acts they expected to […]
Since the discovery of approximately 24 billion barrels of untapped oil reserves in the Williston Basin in 2006, the communities of northwestern North Dakota have observed dramatic changes. Most notably, public law enforcement officials and victim service providers have reported a dramatic spike in service requests, as thousands of people from across the country migrate to the region in search of […]
One of the more disturbing aspects of commercial sex transactions encountered in our review of reverse sting operations is the presence of children. Among the communities that have conducted reverse stings, we found cases in more than 100 cities and counties in which infants or young children were present in vehicles or hotel rooms where men […]
Prostitution and sex trafficking are not strictly urban problems, and with the advent of web-based solicitation and wireless technology, are becoming even more decentralized. Police “reverse sting” operations using female decoys to arrest male…
One of the issues that frequently arises in debates about whether prostitution should be legalized, decriminalized, or remain prohibited is the assertion that it is victimless. The argument against prohibition is built upon the essentially libertarian idea that…
Demand Forum is powered by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and directed by Dr. Michael Shively, NCOSE's Senior Advisor on Research and Data Analysis. It was originally developed by Dr. Shively and Abt Associates with grant support from the National Institute of Justice. In January 2020 the website transferred to NCOSE. In January 2021, work began on a new grant from NIJ (#2020-75-CX-0011) to update and expand the content presented on Demand Forum.
