Prostitution Today

Prostitution has been around for centuries, but as law enforcement steps up efforts to get rid of the age-old sex trade, pimps and prostitutes are finding more sophisticated ways to cash-in.

It's more than just the internet; they're now involved in identity theft, robbery and drugs.

Earlier this month, News Channel 12 was invited to follow Hinds County Deputies as they busted a suspected prostitution house in Terry. During the sting, deputies confiscated $16,000 in cash, Valium, steroids and other drugs. The suspected pimp, 54-year-old James Little, is still on the loose. Deputies say he was running a motorcycle repair business as a front.

After decades of undercover stings, Major Nick Clark says prostitutes are turning to more unconventional methods, like the internet.

"They post their pictures, some of them are as explicit as anything I've ever seen," he said. "Advertising what they do, what they're willing to do, how much they charge for it."

Clark has a skill of finding prostitutes and drug dealers on the streets. When he first started fighting prostitution in the early 90's, he says Highway 80 in Jackson was full of girls selling their bodies to feed their crack cocaine addictions.

But today, Clark says they're branching into identity theft and petty crime.

"There's an acronym....called H-O-E....Out here on the streets it means, 'Hustle On Everything."

"They'll do whatever they can do for money," he said. "Whether it be to rip off your credit cards, steal your money, steal your wallet, steal your ID, steal your checkbook."

Which is why Clark is focusing on more involved operations that yield drugs and cash. He says the sheriff is constantly re-evaluating their strategy and is dedicated to scrubbing the streets of pimps and prostitutes.

Experts say prostitution is a gateway crime. According to the University of Western Michigan, 70 percent of females inmates in the US were initially arrested for prostitution; 33 percent are behind bars for prostitution.

Clarke says prostitution is a constantly evolving industry that involves people of all socioeconomic backgrounds.