San Jose cracks down on illicit massage parlors
More than 100 businesses have closed this year, police report says
For customers seeking more than just a … er … simple massage in San Jose, there’s been no shortage of shops more than happy to oblige.
But that’s now changing. Customers are going to have to look a tad harder to find massage parlors specializing in more than just kneading muscles to relieve tension. This year, the police department has cracked down on more than 100 illicit massage businesses across the city.
In the past 10 months or so, the vice unit has forced deviant parlors to shutter their doors, prompting dozens of massage businesses to apply for permits to work legitimately.
It’s all part of a law enforcement effort to quash what had become a pervasive and persistent problem in San Jose.
In fact, it had gotten so bad that in January the nonprofit Polaris, which works to prevent human trafficking, declared Santa Clara as
the county with the third highest concentration of illicit massage parlors in the United States. The sketchy salons had been allowed to operate, the report said, in part because of weak laws and enforcement.
Several years ago, the City Council passed an ordinance that required massage therapists to have state licenses and parlors, owners and managers to get permits to operate. But few massage businesses went to the trouble of applying for permits and, when they did receive warnings, few businesses took them seriously.
But last year, the City Council said that bringing personal care businesses into compliance with the law was a priority. So in early 2018, the vice unit stepped up collaboration with the permits unit and other city offices, increased covert investigations and began educating landlords about the types of business being conducted on their property.
According to a new report by Police Chief Eddie Garcia, of the 191 massage parlors suspected of prostitution this year, 107 have closed. Of the 60 covert investigations police performed, 54 of the businesses were offering prostitution services to clients.
“That is a very shocking figure to us,” said Lt. Paul Messier.
On Stevens Creek Boulevard just east of Westfield Valley Fair mall, two adjacent massage parlors — Pink Pearl and Sakura Spa
— shuttered after covert operations revealed prostitution activities. So have dozens of other shops, often those that had operated during late hours behind darkened storefronts and locked doors where customers needed to be buzzed in.
“SJ scene literally dead,” one sex buyer posted online.
In two instances, the police chief’s report said, landlords were unwilling to cooperate with the city, prompting court hearings and fines.
“We know that these types of illicit activities create serious neighborhood impacts, and facilitate human trafficking and exploitation, so we’ll forge ahead with these efforts to crack down on dozens more in the months to come,” Mayor Sam Liccardo said in a statement to this news organization.
Permit applications are also up, from just seven in 2017 to 67 so far this year. That, police say, is a sign that more businesses are seeking to work within the confines of the law.
Another 33 illicit massage parlors are expected to close in the next six months, leaving the city with about 45 more massage parlors suspected of illicit activity to investigate, according to the report.
If shuttered businesses try to reopen under new names with the same manager, Messier said, police will deny their massage permits or push for their eviction. But, he added, surrounding cities are seeing an increase in illicit massage parlors, suggesting most purveyors are trying their luck elsewhere.
“The department has SJ
on lockdown, better massage in Milpitas and Cupertino,” read one online post cited in the police chief’s report.
The city had considered imposing a moratorium on massage parlor permits. But with just 45 more massage parlors to investigate and plans to work with the city’s finance department to track new massage businesses, the police department no longer feels the restriction is necessary.
While Messier said that most illegitimate massage parlors in San Jose have closed, he noted customers should look online for positive reviews, especially from female customers, before selecting a place to go. Clients also can check whether individual massage therapists are licensed with the California Massage Therapy Council, he said.
In a separate memo to the City Council, Vice Mayor Magdalena Carrasco and Councilwoman Sylvia Arenas urged the city to help any victims.
“These crimes are not faceless,” the pair wrote. “They impact men and women who are extorted and abused.”
Messier said the police department, which has a human trafficking unit, works with groups such as Community Solutions to provide help to employees of massage parlors who may have been victims of extortion or trafficking.
“We’re always concerned about human trafficking,” Messier said, “because this industry does involve organized crime.”