413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

Appendix D
Participation Letter
THE URBAN INSTITUTE 2100 M STREET, N.W. / WASHINGTON D.C. 20037
Meredith L. Dank Phone: 202-261-5824
Research Associate Fax: 202-659-8985
E-mail: mdank@urban.org
May 31, 2011
Chief name
Agency
Address
City, State, Zip
Dear [personalize],
We are writing to ask for your assistance in a study we are conducting to estimate the scope and
structure of the unlawful commercial sex economy (UCSE) in the United States that is sponsored
by the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice. The preliminary screening
interview that we conducted with the [personalize agency and screening contact person]
suggests that your agency offers a tremendous opportunity to gain more insight into the activities
that comprise the UCSE, the nature of those activities, and their extent. We would like to
formally invite your agency to participate in this national study.
This study would require a minimum of time and effort on the part of you and your staff. Over the
next year, our research team would conduct one site visit to better understand how the unlawful
commercial sex economy operates to determine the structure of UCSE and how these networks
overlap with other illicit economies. This information will help us estimate the scope and scale of
the UCSE, describe how it has changed over the last five years, and document how it relates to
other illicit economies. We will schedule our visit at a time that is most convenient to you and
your staff. We estimate that we would spend approximately three days on site at your agency.
During our visit, we would like to conduct interviews with key personnel involved in the
investigation of UCSE cases (human trafficking, promoting prostitution, and child pornography)
regarding their experience with UCSE. These interviews would last 30-60 minutes. In addition,
we would like to access the case records for closed cases (from 2004-2010) identified as being
related to the UCSE. Our focus would be on exploring the structure of the market, rather than
reporting on specific cases or individuals. These reviews will concentrate on offenders’ business
operations, such as recovered ledgers or details about finances or money laundering. We see
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