New Port Richey is a city of approximately 17,000 residents located in the northern suburbs of Clearwater and Tampa in Pasco County, Florida. Street prostitution, particularly along the U.S. 19 corridor, has posed significant problems to the community, including cases of prostitution-related homicides. For example, in 2010, a sex buyer was robbed and murdered by a prostituted woman in New Port Richey. In October 2014, residents met with city officials to complain about rampant street prostitution in the U.S. 19 area. Among their concerns, residents reported frequently being solicited by both sex buyers and prostituted women. An example of this is when an 18-year-old female resident from the Bellview Avenue area complained that she had been “approached and verbally accosted in her driveway and by her mailbox” by sex buyers attempting to solicit her.

To address such issues, the New Port Richey Police Department and Pasco County Sheriff’s Office have conducted street-level reverse stings to combat the demand that drives commercial sex markets. Officers report that persistent complaints from residents and local businesses often drive anti-prostitution efforts. Once arrested, sex buyers’ names are often publicized by the media. In September 2013, the NPR Chief of Police announced that he was researching new city ordinances meant to be tougher on prostitution, particularly the sex buyers. Options discussed were SOAP orders and ordinances allowing police to cite individuals for repeatedly circling known prostitution “tracks” in vehicles, which would be applied to sex buyers.