Portsmouth is a city of about 95,000 residents, located in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, near Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Newport News. It is an independent city and not part of any county.  Prostitution activity has been reported in the area for decades. For example, in July, 2021, five people were in custody after allegedly being involved in prostitution. The Portsmouth Police Department said its special investigation division has been working on an operation geared towards stopping prostitution in the areas of Prentis Park and Cradock. Four women were arrested and charged with Prostitution, and a man was arrested for contributing to illegal commercial sex and was charged with “Keeping or Frequenting a Bawdy Residence” (i.e., a brothel). In addition to such routine prostitution cases, prostitution-related homicide has also been documented locally.  In their efforts to reduce the size and scope of the city’s commercial sex market, the Portsmouth Police Department has conducted periodic reverse stings targeting sex buyers since at least 2000. Operations are typically conducted at street level, using one or more female undercover officers as decoys. Once arrested, sex buyers often have their names and other identifying information publicized by local media outlets.