Clinton is a city of about 25,000 residents in Hinds County, Mississippi. It is situated in the Jackson metropolitan area, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the city and surrounding communities, and in unincorporated areas of Hinds County. This activity 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 are human trafficking and violence committed against people involved in these transactions.

Consumer-level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies in their strategy for prevention and response. In July, 2019, the Clinton Police Department (CPD) announced its first-ever human trafficking operation, conducted with the assistance of the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department.  Suspects were identified online as they tried to set up meetings for paid sex, and detectives made 23 arrests – mostly of pimps and sex buyers. The suspects and victims included many who were not primarily local, but came from a wide range of areas. Arrests were made of people from Carthage, Lawrence County, and other states (Oklahoma, Michigan, Florida, and Virginia).  One of the arrested sex buyers was from Florida, and had arranged to meet a 14-year-old boy who was actually a detective; he was charged with felony enticement of a child to meet for sexual purposes. One of the arrested sex buyers was the president of Jackson State University, and subsequently resigned from that posittion due to his arrest in the sting.  Over the prior year, Clinton police and fire department employees had undergone extensive training to identify human trafficking and how to effectively rescue victims.  In Jackson, the FBI Human Trafficking task force also carried on an operation the same week in July, 2019.