The law created the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC), which is charged with licensing and regulating individual massage therapists in the state. 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 2009. In the other cities in the region, arrests specifically in massage businesses have been rare or nonexistent.

There has not been a dramatic increase in prostitution arrests, though all of the arrests – a total of seven – have been at massage businesses. South Pasadena has gone from one to 17 massage businesses in the last 10 years.

The number of arrests solely in massage parlors has increased slightly from zero in 2003 to two in 2013, peaking at four arrests in 2006. There were seven arrests in 2003 and six in 2013, with a peak at 17 arrests in 2006. In contrast, prostitution arrests have fluctuated over the years, but there has not been a significant increase. In San Gabriel, for example, the number of massage parlors has increased from one in 2003 to 53 in 2013. There are nine times as many massage parlors in the region than there were 10 years ago.