Baltimore County is a county of approximately 850,000 residents, and includes the communities of Towson, Catonsville and Woodlawn. The county surrounds the independent city of Baltimore. Prostitution activity has been well-documented within the county, and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is sex trafficking. Prostitution related violence has also occurred within the county.

The Baltimore County Police Department has conducted many reverse stings in an effort to contain or reduce prostitution and sex trafficking in the area.  For example, a crackdown in 1994 focused on prostitution and trafficking along the Pulaski Highway, and reverse stings conducted over five days resulted in the arrest of 77 sex buyers.  The focus on this area of the county continued through 1995, and several additional stings pushed to total of arrested sex buyers to 120.  In February 2014, a reverse sting led to the arrest of four sex buyers, including one police officer.  The names and other identifiers of the arrestees have been released to news outlets.