413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

Competition Between Employees
We called it a rat race. They were always trying to make more to please me, they were
competing with each other. I just had to shoot some bull that so and so was making
more. (A3)
Pimps also relied on competition between employees to both maintain control and drive earnings. One
pimp explained, “I didn’t have rules. I have heard pimps say, ‘She has to bring in a certain amount.’ [My
employees] wanted to bring in the most money. It was [a] competitive thing. If you send a girl to get this
money and she only got $200, it is the pimp’s fault. The pimp has to teach them how to make more
money” (C9). Respondents reported that personal attention from the pimp was the primary source of
competition and conflict between employees:
The girls fought—arguments were typical. There was jealousy amongst each other over
me. I was pretty much dating all of them. Before you get in the lifestyle, I wouldn’t think
of being with more than one girl. It would be arguing over the affection over me. Usually I
would have to say this is crazy, you chose to live like this and there is no point in arguing.
They could be best of friends and then I didn’t know what happened. (H4)
Exploiting employee competition and jealousy, respondents compelled workers to make money by
rewarding the most profitable employees with attention. One pimp elaborated how earnings directly
inform the amount of time a pimp spends with each employee: “Basically it is competition. They’re trying
to earn their position. They start off as rookies, they trying to earn the bottom which is the veteran spot.
The one that make the most money gets to sleep with the pimp that particular night. What they earn is
part of their position” (G3). Another respondent explained how he also used personal attention to drive
earnings:
Interviewer: Whoever brought in the most money got the most attention
Respondent: Yeah. It alleviated some stuff. They’d go out there and just compete. (C5)
Competition served as its own incentive structure. Respondents reported that they maintained personal
relationships with many of their employees, and jealousy between employees often drove business. Pimps
sometimes deceived employees by convincing them that a strong romantic bond existed, and encouraged
them to engage in sex work to demonstrate their commitment. Other pimps encouraged outward
competition between employees by favoring sex workers who earned more money.
Business Networks
While pimp and sex worker relationships are fundamental to realize profits within the UCSE, external
relationships also shaped business success. As chapter 4 discussed, law enforcement reported that pimps
use networks to share information with one another about cities’ markets and active law enforcement task
forces. Law enforcement officials described pimp networks to be primarily social, rather than organized
criminal rings. Law enforcement officers have observed that the social networks among pimps are a
mechanism to compete with each other and to keep up on law enforcement activities and adjust their
actions accordingly.
Offender interviews further enforced law enforcement findings regarding the use of business networks.
Offender respondents indicated that while some pimps were highly networked, business relationships
between pimps were largely informal and social. The section below explores both competitive and
supportive networks that exist between pimps. We then consider the role of collaborating legal businesses
and complicit law enforcement in facilitating the underground sex market.
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