What a way to bring an end to the summer.
A co-op of dozens of law enforcement agencies swooped up more than 1,000 pimps and johns in a summer-long series of prostitution stings Per TIME.
The months-long annual sting, now known as the National Johns Suppression Initiative, was led by Sheriff Tom Dart of Cook County, Il. A total of 39 law enforcement agencies across 18 states arrested 961 men trying to buy sex and 71 pimps or traffickers, more than in any of his previous stings.
About two-fifths of the arrests stemmed from online prostitution ads, and 98% of those ads were placed on Backpage.com, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office. In the four years since the annual sting began, more than 4,000 sex buyers and traffickers have been arrested (it used to be called the National Day of Johns).
“This broad national movement should send a strong message to prospective johns that sex trafficking simply is not a victimless crime,” said Sheriff Dart in a statement. “These women and girls have been brutalized and exploited – and the most effective way to deter these heinous crimes is to target the demand.”
According to the report, a lot of children were rounded up in the sting as well.