Springfield Township is one of the nine townships within Summit County, Ohio and has a population of roughly 15,000 residents. There are eleven total Springfield Townships in the State of Ohio, two of which have reported using various tactics to reduce the demand for commercial sex and sex trafficking within their communities: Lucas County and Summit County. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been well-documented in Springfield Township and in surrounding neighborhoods. Consumer-level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies in their strategy for prevention and response.

For example, in January 2020, the Springfield Township Police Department, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cuyahoga Regional Human Trafficking Task Force conducted an investigation that focused on rescuing victims of sex trafficking and apprehending potential sex buyers and sex traffickers/pimps. According to officials, potential victims were contacted through advertisements on the internet for sexual services and undercover officers arranged meetings at a local hotel. Eight women were referred to victim services and seven individuals were arrested for prostitution-related charges. Additionally, two of the arrested offenders were men who were charged with promoting prostitution and drug possession charges.

In late January 2020, the Springfield Township Police Department participated in an additional undercover prostitution operation led by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Investigations Unit and the Northfield Village Police Department, that similarly focused on identifying and rescuing potential victims of sex trafficking in addition to arresting individuals seeking to engage in commercial sex. According to reports, officers posed as potential sex buyers online and contacted individuals suspected of being victims of sex trafficking. In total, officials contacted 18 individuals; 10 were identified as victims of sex trafficking and eight individuals were arrested for soliciting prostitution. One of the arrested offenders was charged with promoting prostitution. The offenders’ identities were included in reports from local news sources.