Spring Valley is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Clark County, NV. The town is located within two miles of the Las Vegas Strip and has a population of roughly 219,000 residents. Prostitution in the state of Nevada is legal in counties with populations under 700,000 residents and is illegal in counties with populations over 700,000 residents. In the State’s larger cities such as Carson City, Reno, and Las Vegas, prostitution is prohibited. Legal prostitution occurring within counties consisting of populations less than 700,000 residents, is strictly limited to licensed and regulated brothels. All other forms of prostitution remain illegal in the state of Nevada. Individuals seeking to purchase commercial sex outside of licensed and regulated brothels can be arrested and sanctioned. Prostitution in Clark County is illegal. For more information about the Prostitution and Solicitation laws in Nevada click HERE.

Prostitution and sex trafficking are pervasive issues within Clark County, especially within the city of Las Vegas and its and surrounding communities. Among the efforts to address prostitution and trafficking have been those seeking to reduce consumer level demand for commercial sex. For example, in the city of Spring Valley, there has been at least one police operation focused on arresting sex buyers. In January of 2021, a multi-agency patrol of the Spring Valley area arrested more than 100 stops, as well as guns and drugs. Officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Spring Valley Area Command, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Clark County School District Police and Nevada Division of Parole and Probation patrolled the area in an operation to combat violent crime. Operation Shield resulted in seven felony and 13 misdemeanor arrests. Nine of those 20 arrests involved sex trafficking off of Interstate 15, which runs directly through both Spring Valley and Las Vegas. In a press release from the LVMPD Spring Valley Area Command, the department stated that they had arrested nine male sex buyers on charges of soliciting/engaging in prostitution in a single shift. The operation responded to residents and businesses in the area who want help from the police in reducing crime and disorder associated with prostitution. The department’s message to sex buyers was:

“Don’t want to end up in the back of a police car facing a criminal charge, a potential trial, and that awkward conversation with your employer/family about where you’ve been all day? It’s very easily prevented… All you have to do is come to the Tropicana Corridor and then NOT engage in unlawful vice activity.”