The Broward County Sheriff's Office said it arrested 30 alleged prostitutes in the month of June in Pompano Beach.
The arrests represent a significant increase from the same period in 2017, BSO said. The law enforcement agency has not yet made last year's arrest numbers available.
"Street-level prostitution adversely affects residents' quality of life and business in the city. People found to be participating in prostitution – whether it's as a buyer or seller – can face misdemeanor or felony charges," BSO said in a statement on Monday. "The severity of the charge depends on the number of previous offenses."
BSO said that much of local prostitution is being conducted by women themselves, instead of in an organized sense with procurers.
Though arrests can be made, BSO said it may not tackle the root of the reasons as to why women are engaging in prostitution – issues such as drug addiction.
A BSO official said that the issue of prostitution is "all over the place" in Broward County.
“Most of the young ladies that we’ve made contact with have some type of problem," the official said. "Some type of opioid heroin epidemic that’s been going on for a while so they have that problem and they need to find that fix, so I’m doing so they sell their bodies.”
