Rockingham, NC
Categories:
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 | ✓ |
Rockingham is a city of approximately 9,000 residents, located in south-central North Carolina’s Richmond County. Situated at the intersection of several major transit routes and roughly equidistant between Charlotte and Fayetteville, the community has reported problems with chronic street prostitution in certain areas for at least a decade. At least one case of prostitution-related homicide has also been documented.
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. Among their efforts to curtail commercial sex activity, the Rockingham Police Department (RPD) has conducted reverse stings targeting sex buyers. In October 2006, RPD officers conducted a street-level reversal in the U.S. 1 and Caroline Street area using a female undercover officer as a decoy. Eleven sex buyers were arrested as a result. Their names and other identifying information were publicized in local media outlets. In late 2006, Rockingham city officials also established a SOAP (Stay Out of Areas of Prostitution) ordinance for the Caroline Street vicinity, barring individuals convicted of prostitution-related offenses from re-entering the area. Those who violate the order face re-arrest. In interviews for the National Assessment Survey, RPD officers noted that they have also conducted web-based reverse stings, though these have not been reported in the press.
Key Partners
- Rockingham Police Department
- Rockingham City Council
Key Sources
National Assessment Survey (2012)
Street-Level Reverse Stings with Identity Disclosure:
- “Police Say 11 Men Sought Sex Acts from Female Officer,” Richmond County Daily Journal, October 28 2006.
SOAP Orders:
- “Rockingham Seeks Citizen Input Nov. 8,” Richmond County Daily Journal, October 28 2006.
- “Letters: Area Was Known for Its Vices 30 Years Ago,” Richmond County Daily Journal, November 18 2006.
- “City Wants to Clean up Caroline Street Area,” Richmond County Daily Journal, December 10 2006.
- “Letters: No Area Should Have Prostitutes,” Richmond County Daily Journal, December 12 2006.
- “Rockingham County Approves Caroline St. Ordinance,” Richmond County Daily Journal, December 13 2006.
- “Letters: Band-Aid Won’t Work, Address the Real Crime,” Richmond County Daily Journal, December 16 2006.
Background on Prostitution in the Area:
- “Selling Sex: Prostitution Still Alive in the Streets of Rockingham,” Richmond County Daily Journal, September 6 2003.
- “Prostitution Can’t Be Ignored,” Richmond County Daily Journal, September 6 2003.
- “More Colorful History of the County,” Richmond County Daily Journal, December 29 2004.
- “Prostitution Sting Nabs 5,” Richmond County Daily Journal, September 2 2006.
- “Police Nab 3 for Prostitution,” Richmond County Daily Journal, October 21 2006.
- “Letters: There’s a Bigger Issue than Prostitution,” Richmond County Daily Journal, October 24 2006.
- “From Prostitution to Drugs, Rockingham Hears about Caroline, S. Hancock Streets,” Richmond County Daily Journal, November 9 2006.
- “Rockingham Council: Troubled Streets Are ‘Horrific,'” Richmond County Daily Journal, November 16 2006.
- “Prostitution Crackdown Continues on Caroline Street,” Richmond County Daily Journal, January 30 2007.
Documented Violence Against Individuals Engaged in Prostitution in the Area:
| State | North Carolina |
| Type | City |
| Population | 9031 |
| Location |
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