Lake Wales is a small city of approximately 17,000 residents located near Lakeland and Winter Haven in Polk County, Florida. Prostitution and sex trafficking are well-documented problems in Lake Wales and other areas in Polk County for decades.

Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies as a strategy for prevention and response. For example, reverse stings have been staged in the city. One operation, conducted in early April 2002, was a coordinated effort between the Lake Wales Police Department (LWPD) and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). The goal of the operation was to reduce prostitution activity in the city’s downtown area. Guided by residents’ and business owners’ complaints, LWPD and PCSO officers posed as both decoy sex buyers and prostituted women near targeted storefronts. As individuals solicited the officers, they were apprehended by a backup team. Although the offenders’ names were not released to the public, the Lakeland Ledger reported that 18 individuals were arrested– 3 prostituted women, ten sex buyers, and five others for drug violations.

In February, 2023, it was announced that the Lake Wales Police Department participated in a large scale sex trafficking operation led by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office that resulted in 213 arrests. During “Operation Traffic Stop,” 24 potential human trafficking victims were identified, and 89 suspects were arrested for “soliciting a prostitute,” traveling to the undercover location to negotiate having sex in exchange for money.