Crime & Safety

Woodbury Massage License Wouldn't Limit Prostitution, Expert Says

The city is considering an ordinance that would require massage therapists to be licensed, but Kathryn Berg, a Woodbury homeopath, says such measures don't reduce prostitution.

Woodbury is looking to in an effort to curb increasing reports of prostitution in the city.

But Kathryn Berg, a Woodbury homeopath, says similar measures in other cities don’t work and do not regulate those who contribute to the problem.

Berg—who is not a massage therapist but volunteers with the Minnesota Natural Health Legal Reform Project—said the proposed licensing creates other problems, as well.

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“It’s a slippery slope when you let someone into your business to snoop around,” Berg said.

Licensing would also open the door for massage therapists to lodge complaints against their competitors, she said.

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The ordinance is meant to help police and the public distinguish legitimate businesses from those offering more than just massages, Public Safety Chief Lee Vague said in August, when the Woodbury City Council was considering the matter.

Over the past two years there have been increased complaints about prostitution at massage shops in Woodbury.

“It’s necessary,” Vague said of the license ordinance. “It’s a problem that’s not going away.”

Requiring massage therapists to be licensed would also reduce the need for costly undercover investigations, Vague said. Recently, the city in order to protect an undercover officer from revealing his identity.

Berg said the driving force behind licensing in cities (there is no state license required) is often schools that teach massage therapy, and the ordinances are a way to spur their enrollment.

Meanwhile, the notion of prostitutes operating out of massage parlors is becoming passé, Berg said. In her work with the Minnesota Natural Health Legal Reform Project, she spoke with John Harrington, former St. Paul police chief, who reported that prostitutes are more often utilizing the Internet.

The city recently reduced the proposed license fees and the council is expected to discuss the ordinance at its Nov. 9 meeting.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.