Niagara Falls is a city in Upstate New York on the Niagara River, known for the vast falls that straddle the state’s border with Canada. The city has a population of approximately 48,000 residents. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the city, surrounding communities, and other areas of the county. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates result 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.

Cases of child sex trafficking and the homicide of prostituted persons have occurred, as well as the more persistent ongoing problems associated with street and indoor prostitution. For example, in 2018, a Niagara Falls man pleaded guilty to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old victim. The man posted ads of her online between December 2012 and March 2013. The man also transported the victim to appointments with sex buyers. In May 2022, it was announced that a man believed to be in the Niagara Falls area was wanted by police for a range of offenses, including Trafficking a Person Over 18, Financial/Material Benefit/Trafficking a Person Over 18, Advertising Another Person’s Sexual Services, Material Benefit from Sexual Services, Trafficking in Persons by Recruiting, Forcible Confinement, Uttering Threats and Procuring.

Tactics focusing on demand are not known to be employed routinely but have been used. For example, in 1991, seven men were arrested during a sweep of East Side streets; six were charged with patronizing a prostitute. A young female police officer served as the decoy, and the arrests occurred between 10:30 p.m. and 2 a.m., mainly in the area of Niagara and 16th streets.