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LOS ANGELES () — Residents in Larchmont and Koreatown say prostitution is becoming more visible in their neighborhoods, prompting new concerns about safety near homes and schools.
As complaints rise, the Los Angeles Police Department is increasing patrols along what officers call the Western Corridor, a stretch of Western Avenue between 2nd Street and Melrose Avenue.
The shift comes as LAPD continues a crackdown on prostitution along South Los Angeles’ Figueroa Corridor, a 4-4-mile stretch long known for open solicitation. Officers say that enforcement there appears to be pushing some activity north into residential areas.
Before dawn on a recent Friday, LAPD Senior Lead Officer Daniel Chavez drove slowly through the Western Corridor, shining a flashlight toward sidewalks and parked cars.
“It’s time to go home. Didn’t I tell you already?” he said to one young woman standing on the street.
Chavez said he often starts his patrols before sunrise, urging women suspected of soliciting sex to leave the area.
“This girl’s got glowing heels here,” he said at one point. “Hey! You got to go home. I like the shoes, but you got go home!”
He said he gets regular complaints from residents.
“I get complaints constantly from my community that they’re seeing these women, you know, cladly dressed out here at, you know, 5, 6, 7, even 8 o’clock in the morning when the kids are getting dropped off at school.”
Chavez also checks cars parked on side streets, where customers often take women.
“You’ll start to see like the windows getting a little bit foggy and stuff,” he said. He pointed to a coin laundry where he said suspected pimps wait in parked cars.
“These cars that are, you know, backed in, all blacked out, tinted, they sit here all night and they wait for these girls to do their work.”
While many women leave when told, Chavez said not all comply. During an interview, one woman walked directly behind him.
“Ma’am, I asked you to go home already. Why are you still out here? You told me your Uber was coming 45 minutes ago,” he told her. “No, that wasn’t another girl, that was you. I’ve talked to you a few times already today. It’s time to go home. Time to go.”
When asked how visible the activity is, Chavez replied, “It’s blatant. It’s like there’s not a care in the world. She knows there’s a police car here. We’re sitting here with the camera.”
LAPD has also been targeting underage prostitution along the Figueroa Corridor. Chavez said the increased enforcement there is likely pushing more activity into the Western Corridor.
“We’re seeing girls that we haven’t seen before. We’re seeing girls more frequently,” he said.
LAPD Captain Rachel Rodriguez, who oversees the Olympic Division, said prostitution and human trafficking have long existed along Western Avenue.
“We have historically seen prostitution-related crimes and human trafficking along Western Corridor for decades,” she said. “I think what we’re seeing now is the blatant prostitution that is happening out there and the trafficking of young women, and that is bleeding onto our smaller streets.”
Some homeowners have placed signs in their yards warning customers and women that they are being recorded and that the footage will be turned over to police.
Chavez said residents are frustrated.
“My community here is fed up. They want this problem solved. They want to be able to walk their dog in the morning without seeing condoms, without seeing half naked women on the streets.”
Rodriguez said protecting children is a priority.
“One of the things I promised our neighborhoods and our community is we are going to make sure our kids have a safe passage to school.”
Chavez said he reminds the women he encounters that the work is dangerous. “You got rent and bills to pay? You know it’s dangerous though, right?” he told one woman.
But even with early patrols, he said it’s impossible to clear every corner before daylight. By 6:30 a.m., women were still visible along Western Avenue as families began their morning routines. Saint Brendan Elementary and LAUSD’s Charles H. Kim Elementary sit just off the corridor.
“It’s just uncomfortable, and you have your kids asking, like, ‘What’s that?'” said parent Lauren Benaviz.
Rodriguez acknowledged staffing challenges. When asked whether the division has enough officers to address the problem, she said, “I wish I had more officers.”
But even an understaffed LAPD seems to be making progress along the Western Corridor.
Residents tell 7 On Your Side Investigates they are now seeing fewer customers parking overnight on side streets, and Chavez continues to confront suspected buyers.
“Hey, stop. What are you guys doing out here? You trying to get a girlfriend?” he said to one man during patrol.
Chavez said most of the women working the Western Corridor are between 18 and 23 years old, but officers have also found minors. The youngest girl LAPD has rescued from the area was 11.
LAPD cannot arrest women for loitering with the intent to commit prostitution. That state law was overturned, and officers must witness an actual transaction to make an arrest. Police also view many of the women as victims, saying most are trafficked and under the control of a pimp.
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