Jackson County is located in west central Missouri, and contains the Missouri portion of Kansas City, Independence, and many smaller towns and unincorporated areas. It is the second most populous county in the state, with roughly 717,000 residents. Sex Trafficking and prostitution are prevalent and well-documented problems in the county. In an effort to reduce […]
Inglewood is a city of about 106,000 residents, located just south of Los Angeles near Hawthorne in Los Angeles County, CA. Prostitution is a substantial problem in the city, and police have used a number of demand-reduction tactics in an attempt to control it and to prevent sex trafficking. The Inglewood Police Department has frequently […]
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 […]
Huntington is a city located along the Ohio River in West Virginia. It is the second largest city in the state, with approximately 46,000 residents. Prostitution has been reported in the community for decades, and has generated complaints to law enforcement and city officials. In recent years, the opiod crisis has been cited as a […]
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 […]
Honolulu is Hawaii’s largest city with a population of over 330,000 residents, and is located on the island of Oahu. Prostitution has been a visible and persistent problem in the city for decades, resulting in complaints to law enforcement. Sex trafficking has also become a growing concern in recent years with numerous adult and child […]
Hollywood is a city in southeast Florida located within Broward County and has a population of approximately 150,000 residents. Prostitution and sex trafficking are well-documented in the city and surrounding areas. This activity and its ancillary crimes have resulted in complaints to the police from residents and businesses. In addition, targeted assaults, rapes, and homicides […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
