Examining the Association Between Massage Parlors and Neighborhood Crime

Abstract

Although massage parlors have been associated with illicit activities including prostitution, less is known about their association with neighborhood crime. Employing the Computer Automated Dispatch/Record Management System (CAD/RMS), online user review, licensing, Census, and zoning data, we examine the impact of massage parlors on crime in their surrounding neighborhoods. Using spatial autoregressive models, our results indicate the total number of massage parlors was associated with increased social disorder. The presence of illicit massage parlors in adjacent neighborhoods was associated with crime and physical disorder in the focal neighborhoods. This study has consequences for how police address crime associated with massage parlors. Specifically, the use of online user review forums could be an effective way to identify illicit massage parlors. Recommendations for policing and code enforcement are discussed.

Examining the Geography of Illicit Massage Businesses Hosting Commercial Sex and Sex Trafficking in the United States: The Role of Census Tract and City-Level Factors

“…A larger city-level police force also did not prevent the local likelihood of IMBs, although the role of police presence may depend on how police are deployed rather than the number of police officers (Nagin et al, 2015). Furthermore, a positive association between violent crime arrest rates and the placement of IMBs was expected considering the evidence on the variety of violent crimes occurring in IMBs (Dank et al, 2014; Polaris, 2018) and the previously-reported association between the presence of IMBs and an increase in local crime and disorder (Huff et al, 2019). However, the odds for census tracts to have IMBs were higher in cities with lower violent crime rates, perhaps because violent crimes are more often recorded in disadvantaged areas while commercial sex venues are moving toward more advantaged and under-policed areas where buyer demand is anticipated to be higher (Chin et al, 2023; Murphy & Venkatesh, 2006).…”

“…Similar to prior research on the locations of illicit massage businesses (Chin et al, 2023; Crotty & Bouché, 2018; Huff et al, 2019), information about the specific locations of IMBs was extracted from a popular, publicly-accessible, and comprehensive national reviewboard. 1 Customers of commercial sex (“Johns”) use this reviewboard to search by state and city for IMBs in their area and leave reviews with graphic details about the sexual services received and other details about the costs, the venue, judgments about the appearance and perceived age and racial and ethnic backgrounds of IMB staff.…”

“…For example, there is anecdotal evidence that IMBs host a wider scope of crimes such as sex and labor trafficking, assault and violence, homicides, and robberies (Dank et al, 2014;Polaris, 2018). In addition, prior research has demonstrated that the presence of IMBs can increase local levels of crime and disorder (Huff et al, 2019), similarly to how risky facilities such as bars and restaurants can have a crime-generating effect by attracting motivated offenders (Bowers, 2014;Eck et al, 2007).…”