Twin Falls, ID

Tactics Used

Auto Seizure
Buyer Arrests
Cameras
Community Service
Employment Loss
Identity Disclosure
IT Based Tactics
John School
Letters
License Suspension
Neighborhood Action
Public Education
Reverse Stings
SOAP Orders
Web Stings

Twin Falls, located in southern Idaho, has approximately 50,000 residents. It’s a small city but is the largest one in Twin Falls County, where it’s also the county seat. Its location along Route 84, a major interstate highway, has been identified by police as a contributing factor in local prostitution and sex trafficking activity. Local law enforcement has reported that much of the city’s commercial sex market is moving online and involves women and girls from other areas. The Idaho Anti-Trafficking Coalition and the Magic Valley A-Team were formed to address such problems, and in 2018 the Federal Department of Health and Human Services commissioned a training session on human trafficking in Twin Falls.

In efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex in the area, police have conducted reverse sting operations and engaged in opportunistic sex buyer arrests. For example, in 2012, the Twin Falls Police Department (TFPD) conducted a handful of anti-prostitution investigations that resulted in the arrests of several sex buyers. These investigations were in response to complaints and tips from local residents and businesses about suspected prostitution activity. In May 2012, TFPD officers conducted a street-level reverse sting at a local park using a female undercover officer as a decoy. Two male sex buyers were arrested as a result. In June 2012, TFPD officers arrested two sex buyers after receiving complaints about suspected prostitution activity at Twin Falls hotels; several prostituted women were also arrested. Following each of the investigations, the sex buyers’ identities were released to the public.

Key Sources

Sex Buyer Arrests, Identity Disclosure:

Street-Level Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:

Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:

Background on Prostitution in the Area:

Documented Violence Against Individuals Engaged in Prostitution in the Area:

State Idaho
Type City
Population 49819
Location
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