Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex Economy in Eight Major US Cities
In 2010, the National Institute of Justice funded the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center to measure the size and structure of the underground commercial sex economy in eight major US cities. The goals of this study were to: (1) derive a more rigorous estimate of the underground commercial sex economy (UCSE) in eight major US cities and (2) provide an understanding of the structure of this underground economy. To date, no reliable data exist to provide national or state policymakers with a verifiable and detailed understanding of underground commercial sex trade networks or the ways in which these networks interact with one another on the local, state, or interstate level. In addition, there is no information regarding the relationship between the UCSE and the local commercial sex trade or commercial sex activity conducted over the Internet. This study aimed to close the gap in our understanding about the nature and extent of these activities.
The study employed a multi-method approach, using both qualitative and quantitative data, and data were collected in the following eight cities: San Diego, Seattle, Dallas, Denver, Washington, DC, Kansas City, Atlanta, and Miami. Existing datasets documenting the market changes for illegal drugs and weapons were analyzed to measure changes in these markets and estimate the overall size of these markets. This was done by measuring changes in a series of “proxy” variables, which we assumed to be proportional to underlying activity. Thus, official national datasets1 that measured some sort of drug and gun activities over a period of time were collected to measure these changes. Qualitative data was collected through interviews with 119 stakeholders and 142 convicted offenders, including local and federal law enforcement officers, prosecutors, pimps/sex traffickers, sex workers, and child pornographers. Stakeholders and offenders were interviewed about the structure of the UCSE, the profits generated through the UCSE, networking within the UCSE, and changes in the UCSE over time.