Alexandria, LA

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

Alexandria is a city of approximately 48,000 residents, located midway between Baton Rouge and Shreveport in central Louisiana. To curtail commercial sex sales in the area, the Alexandria Police Department (APD) conducted a handful of successful street-level reverse stings between 2007 and 2009. One such operation, dubbed “John-John Sweep”, resulted in the arrest of 31 sex buyers in April 2009. Some of the men had their names publicized by local media outlets.

In June 2014, the APD, Central Louisiana Safe Streets Task Force and FBI collaborated to conduct a reverse sting. Officers arrested 17 sex buyers during the operation, and disclosed each of the men’s names, ages, hometowns, and mugshots to the public. In a news release, the APD reported that the investigation was undertaken in an effort to reduce human trafficking and child sex abuse in the area, but added that none of the individuals intercepted had been charged with trafficking-related offenses. Officers would not disclose the location of the sting, to protect the integrity of future operations.

In September 2015, Louisiana State Police reported the arrest of a sex buyer in Alexandria following a web-based anti-prostitution investigation. The man had reportedly posted online advertisements soliciting sex. Over the course of the investigation, the man allegedly “began asking for sex with an adult and a juvenile. He also conveyed his interest in performing several heinous sexual acts with the juvenile.” He was arrested and charged with “contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, solicitation of prostitution, prostitution involving juveniles and crimes against nature by solicitation.” Although the logistics of the sting were not disclosed, the offender’s identity was publicized in press.

In 2019, two people were arrested at Queen Spa Aromatherapy in Alexandria after a prostitution investigation by the Alexandria Police Department Narcotics Division.

Key Partners

Key Sources

State Louisiana
Type City
Population 47012
Location
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