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. For example, in August 2017 eight men were arrested in a prostitution reverse sting.  The undercover operation took place over a weekend and targeted those seeking to pay to sexually abuse teenage girls. Investigators used Backpage.com and Craigslist to facilitate their communications. Undercover police posed as 16 year old girls willing to exchange sexual intercourse or sex acts for money or narcotics. Hundreds of texts were exchanged with potential sex buyers and police. A 20 year old from Sheldon and a 24 Year old from Worthington arrived at the agreed upon location and were among eight people arrested in the sting in Springfield. Taking part in the sting were members of the Brown and Nicollet County Sheriff’s Department, the Mankato Department of Public Safety, and the New Ulm and Springfield Police Departments. With those latest arrests, around 100 people had been arrested in prostitution stings in Brown, Blue Earth and Nicollet counties between 2015 and 2017.