Indianapolis, Indiana is a city with a population of approximately 882,000. It is the capital of, and most populous city in, Indiana and also serves as the seat of Marion County. For decades, residents, businesses, police, and others have recognized the city’s substantial prostitution problem, and its links to other crimes, including sex trafficking of […]
Howard County contains approximately 335,000 residents, and is situated in central Maryland between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The Howard County Police Department (HCPD) frequently conducts reverse stings at specific locations within the county, and for descriptions of HCPD-led stings in Columbia, Elkridge, Jessup, Laurel, and North Laurel, see individual site pages. Countywide anti-demand efforts began […]
Houston is one of the largest cities in the United States, with over 2.3 million residents, located in Harris County, TX. The large metropolis extends to Galveston Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. Commercial sex continues to occur in a wide variety of venues including streets, hotels, and nightclubs, and storefront brothels (such as nail salons and […]
Hobe Sound is a city of approximately 13,000 residents in Martin County on the eastern coast of Florida. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in Hobe Sound, surrounding communities, and surrounding unincorporated areas of Martin county. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is sex trafficking. This activity and the problems […]
Henrico County is a county of approximately 334,000 residents located in central Virginia, and its population center is the city of Richmond. Prostitution is a visible and persistent problem in the areas surrounding Richmond, including cases of human trafficking for sexual exploitation of children, and of adults through the use of force. To deter sex […]
Haverhill is a city of approximately 67,000 residents, located in northeast Massachusetts near Salem and Lawrence. To combat prostitution in the city, the Haverhill Police Department conducts reverse stings several times per year. When conducting operations at street-level, HPD officers have often conduct both reverse stings and stings targeting prostituted women and sex buyers in […]
Hartford is the capital of Connecticut, located in the central region of the state, and has a population of about 121,000. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been well-documented problems in Hartford for decades, and associated crimes occurring within the sex trade context have included the homicide of prostituted women, and infants endangered during prostitution transactions. […]
Harris County is a county of over 4.68 million residents, located in southwest Texas. Houston, TX, is the county’s seat and largest city with approximately 2.3 million residents. Additional communities within the county are Spring, Humble, and Cloverleaf. Prostitution and sex trafficking are well documented and persistent problems in Harris County and its core city […]
Hagerstown is a city of approximately 40,000 residents, located in Washington County, Maryland, about 20 miles north of Martinsburg, West Virginia. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity are well documented in this city and surrounding areas. For example, in June 2018 a man was sentenced to spend over a decade behind bars for sex trafficking of a […]
Grand Rapids, Michigan has a population of approximately 200,000 and serves as the government seat of Kent County. The city and surrounding areas have had well-documented problems with prostitution and sex trafficking, spanning decades and resulting in complaints to law enforcement. Problems related to the local commercial sex market include cases of drugs involved in […]
Demand Forum is powered by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and directed by Dr. Michael Shively, NCOSE's Senior Advisor on Research and Data Analysis. It was originally developed by Dr. Shively and Abt Associates with grant support from the National Institute of Justice. In January 2020 the website transferred to NCOSE. In January 2021, work began on a new grant from NIJ (#2020-75-CX-0011) to update and expand the content presented on Demand Forum.
