Many liken the businesses to those one might find in a red light district. However, according to data requested by this news organization, the number of prostitution arrests in San Gabriel, Arcadia, Monrovia, Pasadena, San Marino, South Pasadena, Monterey Park and Alhambra has not spiked as a result of the steady increase in the number of massage businesses year over year.
In San Gabriel, for example, the number of massage parlors has increased from one in to 53 in In contrast, prostitution arrests have fluctuated over the years, but there has not been a significant increase. There were seven arrests in and six in , with a peak at 17 arrests in The number of arrests solely in massage parlors has increased slightly from zero in to two in , peaking at four arrests in South Pasadena has gone from one to 17 massage businesses in the last 10 years.
There has not been a dramatic increase in prostitution arrests, though all of the arrests โ a total of seven โ have been at massage businesses. In the other cities in the region, arrests specifically in massage businesses have been rare or nonexistent. Part of the problem with massage, officials say, lies in the sheer number of businesses that have opened since the California Massage Therapy Law went into effect in The law also prohibits cities from passing laws that restrict massage businesses differently than other licensed professional services like lawyers or doctors, which cities say restricts their ability to successfully regulate them.
And with the law about to a sunset in , many local jurisdictions and political leaders are eager to change it. The proliferation of massage in many local cities, officials said, can explain both the increasing problem with illicit activity in the businesses as well as the lack in numerical proof of that problem. Perrine said his department launched a more aggressive undercover operation in October and has already arrested four people for prostitution.
In Pasadena, prostitution arrests have dramatically decreased from in to 33 in There are massage parlors in Pasadena, up from approximately nine in ; however, Pasadena did not provide information for businesses that have opened and closed.
