Salisbury is a city of approximately 33,000 residents, located in Wicomico County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Prostitution is a well documented problem in the city, and is linked to a wide range of local crimes.  For example, in 2008 a Salisbury man faced assault and related charges in connection with attacks on several local women engaged in prostitution.  In July 2008, detectives were investigating the homicide of a prostituted woman when they became aware of a suspect involved in assaults on several other local prostituted women. Detectives learned that the suspect pushed and hit the women and threatened some of them with a knife.

Salisbury Police have conducted street-level reverse stings to arrest sex buyers since at least 2007, if not earlier. Operations are often conducted in tandem with “traditional” stings targeting prostituted women. All arrestees’ names and other identifying information are disclosed to the public. In December 2017, complaints from citizens and business owners in Wicomico County led to a Maryland State Police investigation that resulted in five arrests for prostitution solicitation. Troopers assigned to the Salisbury Barrack planned, coordinated and conducted a prostitution/solicitation sting in the Wicomico County area. The men were arrested after offering an undercover female state trooper money for sexual intercourse. Each person arrested was charged with solicitation for prostitution. Each has been taken to the Wicomico County Central Booking Center for processing and an initial appearance before a court commissioner. The identities of the five individuals arrested were included in news reports