La Vista is a suburb of Omaha, NE with a population of approximately 17,000 residents, located in Sarpy County. In an attempt to reduce consumer-level demand that drives both prostitution and sex trafficking markets locally, police have conducted at least one web-based reverse sting operation. In June 2017, a multi-agency effort led to the arrests […]
Gillette is a city in Northeastern Wyoming of approximately 33,000 residents, located along Interstate 90. It is the largest city and government seat of Campbell County, WY. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been well-documented in the city and surrounding communities, and in unincorporated areas of Campbell County. This activity and the problems and ancillary […]
Scottsbluff is a city of about 14,000 residents located in southwestern Nebraska, near the Wyoming border, in Scotts Bluff County. Authorities at local, state, and federal levels have identified the city’s proximity to Interstate 80 (specifically, located on the highway connecting Interstate’s 25 and 80) to be the primary factor in the level of prostitution […]
Santa Barbara County is located on the Pacific Coast of Southern California, north of Los Angeles. Incidents of prostitution and human trafficking in and around the city of Santa Barbara and in other areas of the county have been reported for years. For example, in 2010, the Santa Barbara Police Department, responding to reports of […]
Springfield is a town of approximately 9,000 residents. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the city, surrounding communities, and other county areas. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates result in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Consumer-level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking […]
Stevens Point is a city of roughly 26,000 residents, located in Portage County, approximately 25 miles west of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the city and surrounding communities, and in unincorporated areas of the county. Throughout 2017 and early 2018, police had fielded increasing levels of complaints from residents and businesses, and […]
Ocean City is a community of approximately 7,000 residents, located on the Maryland coast. Prostitution, sex trafficking, and related crimes have been well documented in the city for years. A county wide operation in 2015 produced the arrest of 21 people for a range of related crimes, including soliciting children for prostitution, assault, and “child […]
Swain County is a largely rural area in North Carolina with a population of approximately 14,000 residents. Among the local efforts to combat problems associated with prostitution and sex trafficking are those focusing on apprehending the buyers of sexual abuse of children. In March 2018, a multiagency child exploitation operation over the St. Patrick’s Day […]
Putnam County is a largely rural area located south of Jacksonville, Florida, with a population of approximately 98,000. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the cities and surrounding areas of the county. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates result in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Consumer-level demand […]
Lenoir is a city of approximately 18,000 in northeastern North Carolina, near the Tennessee border. Lenoir is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and is the county seat of Caldwell County. Prostitution, sex trafficking, human trafficking, and rape have been well documented in the city. For example, in September 2020, a Lenoir […]
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.
