Swatara Township is a community of approximately 25,000 residents, located in the suburbs of Harrisburg in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. In January 2010, the Swatara Township Police Department conducted a web-based reverse sting to identify and arrest local sex buyers. Police posted a decoy advertisement to Backpage.com (a website targeted for its association with prostitution), then used a female officer to arrange meetings with the men who replied. As a result, two sex buyers were apprehended, and their names and other identifying information were released to local media outlets.

In May 2014, ten people were arrested on prostitution and drug charges during a sting operation along the Eisenhower Boulevard corridor of Swatara Township. Six men were charged with soliciting a prostitute, and their names were released to the press. Two women were charged with engaging in prostitution and two others were charged with promoting prostitution (transporting).