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HARRIS COUNTY, TX – The Harris County Sheriff’s Office again led the nation in the Annual National Johns Suppression Initiative (NJSI).

In its 13th year of operation, the National Johns Suppression Initiative (NJSI) ran from Jan. 18 – Feb. 5 (Super Bowl Sunday) and included nearly 30 law enforcement agencies across 15 states. The arrest rate and number of participating agencies was the highest to-date since NJSI operations began.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the Houston Police Department ranked first and second place respectively, followed closely by Cook County, IL, the location of the initiative’s foundation.

NJSI operations were conceived of and launched by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart in 2011 to bring further attention to the tragic and exploitive nature of the sex trafficking industry. Since the operations began, the participating agencies from across the country have arrested more than 6,500 sex buyers and traffickers.

“I’m exceedingly proud to lead the nation in targeting sex buyers and traffickers during this annual initiative,” stated Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. “Houston was home to Super Bowl LI. As we welcomed the world to our City, we made it clear that there is no place for victimization and sexual exploitation.”

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office arrested 178 sex buyers throughout the operation. The total HCSO arrests equal the state-wide totals of Arizona, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Nevada and Virginia combined.

A gallery of mugshots is available via the following link: https://www.flickr.com/gp/147592787@N08/Y9c9W8