AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Geisha, a prostitute working at the Chicken Ranch brothel, rests in her bed in Pahrump, Nev., Tuesday, March 31, 2009.
The report by the Urban Institute analyzes information on the trade in eight cities: Miami, Dallas, Washington, Denver, San Diego, Seattle, Atlanta, and Kansas City, Mo.
Owners of escort services (essentially high-end prostitution services) structure their business carefully, keeping meticulous books and investing in shell companies or real estate, according to the report.
"We filed taxes and opened a business account … It was an escort service that allowed for massage and strip tease, but it was the acts of prostitution that made it illegal. We had them sign contracts [that included prohibitions against prostitution], but we turned our heads," one person affiliated with an escort service explained in the report.
Unlike any other street prostitutes, escort services actually use credit cards and often keep most of their money on the books, essentially hiding from
Owners also run counter-surveillance on the police who are trying to track them down. According to one law enforcement officer, there is a website called "Rate a Cop" for escort services to keep tabs.
Prostitutes are also trained to suss out possible sting operations by proactively attempting to identify law enforcement prior to committing incriminating transactions.
Strategies include:
Asking directly if they are the police
Watching customer's body language, movement, and appearance for suspicious or nervous behavior
Describing all actions taken by customers aloud so that, should a police officer do something inappropriate during a sting operation, it is recorded and usable in court.
Actively pushing police during a sting to do something they aren't supposed to do