Rowan County, North Carolina has a population of about 150,000 and is located in the central portion of the state.   is a city of approximately 34,000 residents, located in central North Carolina’s Rowan County. Prostitution and the sex trafficking of minors have been reported in the area, and residents have complained to law enforcement about prostitution-related activities. 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 within the county.  For example, the Salisbury Police Department has conducted reverse stings.  For example, in June 2014, the SPD conducted a small street-level reversal in the city following complaints from residents in the Fulton Heights, Mitchell and Maupin Avenue areas. After several individuals in the neighborhood reported that a man “had been approaching women from the ages of 12 to 74 offering to pay them for sex,” the Salisbury Police Department deployed two undercover female officers to the area. When the sex buyer approached one of the decoys and offered her $30 for sex, he was arrested. His name, age, address, and arrest photo were publicized in local media outlets.

County agencies have engaged in demand reduction activities as well.  For example, in February 2018, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting call in the 200 block of Farm House Road. When deputies arrived, a man was found with a gun shot wound to the leg, and a second man was identified as the suspect in the shooting. The man was initially charged with assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill, discharging a firearm into occupied property, and solicitation of prostitution.  In court in 2021, the defendant pleaded no contest to one count of solicitation of prostitution. All other charges in the case were dismissed.   His identity was included in news reports.