Coralville, IA

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

Coralville is a city of about 23,000 residents, located in the eastern part of Iowa, near Iowa City. Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has been targeted by local law enforcement agencies as a strategy for prevention and response. For example, a web-based reverse sting was conducted in April of 2012.  An online advertisement was posted by police, and men who responded and arranged to buy sex were arrested for soliciting prostitution.  The names, ages, and photos of the arrested sex buyers were released to the media.  Coralville Police collaborated with the University of Iowa Police and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department in the operation. Sex buyers arrested in a more recent reverse sting in Coralville, Iowa were given a one-year deferred sentence involving probation and a requirement to complete 50 hours of community service.  The arrestee’s record for the offense would be cleared if they don’t commit another violation during the year of probation, and if they complete their community service obligation. The community service requirement in Coralville does not appear to be precisely targeted toward addressing demand, but instead appear to be a sanction applied to misdemeanor’s general, and considered appropriate to apply to the buyers of sex as misdemeanants.  To provide points of comparison, community service in other locations is programmatic and specifically designed to deal with demand.  For example, the Red Zone program in Indianapolis couples a “john school” educational intervention with community service specifically designed for them.

Key Partners

  • Coralville Police Department
  • University of Iowa Police
  • Johnson County Sheriff’s Department
State Iowa
Type City
Population 22949
Location
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