York is a city of approximately 45,000 residents, located in York County in south-central Pennsylvania. To curtail commercial sex and its related crimes in the city, the York City Police Department has used patrol officers to conduct anti-prostitution investigations – both reverse stings targeting sex buyers, and stings targeting prostituted women. The Chief of Police […]
Yakima is a city of close to 100,000 residents in Central Washington, and is the county seat of Yakima County, WA. Prostitution has been described by residents and businesses as a substantial local problem for decades, and more recently sex trafficking has been uncovered in several investigations. The city has also documented several cases of […]
Wyandanch is a hamlet of just under 13,000 residents, located within the town of Babylon, in Suffolk County, New York. As in the neighboring communities of Copiague, and Amityville, prostitution emerged as a formidable problem in the late 1980s. Among the more serious problems associated with the local commercial sex market, was the murder of […]
Worcester is a city of approximately 206,000 residents, located about 40 miles west of Boston and 40 miles east of Springfield, in central Massachusetts. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the city, surrounding communities, and in other areas of the county. This activity, and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates result in complaints to […]
Woonsocket is a city of approximately 43,000 residents, located along the Massachusetts border in northern Rhode Island. Prostitution has been identified by local residents as a chronic problem in certain areas of the city for decades. Crimes generated from the local sex trade include the serial homicide of prostituted women, sex trafficking of adults and […]
Woodbury is a city of approximately 71,000 residents, located in the eastern suburbs of St. Paul in Washington County, Minnesota. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the city and surrounding communities, and in other areas of the county. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies […]
Wisconsin Dells is a city of approximately 3,200 residents, located at the crossroads of Adams, Columbia, Juneau and Salk Counties in southeastern Wisconsin. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been the subject to complaints to police by residents, and child sex trafficking is known to have occurred in the city. Children in the area have been […]
Winter Haven is a city of approximately 53,000 residents in Polk County in central Florida. The city has well-documented problems with prostitution, as well as cases of sex trafficking rings involving minors (i.e., domestic minor sex trafficking). A Winter Haven police officer was decertified for “Perjury, Prostitution, Sex on Duty.” It was served by the […]
Winston-Salem is a city located in North Carolina with a population of roughly 245,000. It is a city in, and the county seat of, Forsyth County, NC. Prostitution has been well-documented in the city for decades, generating complaints to police from residents and local businesses. Among the many crimes associated with commercial sex in the […]
Winona is a city of approximately 26,000 residents, located in Winona County in southeast Minnesota. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the city and surrounding communities, and in unincorporated areas of the county. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Consumer level […]
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.
